There are two woodpecker species
visiting Michigan backyards that can be hard to tell apart, the Downy and the Hairy Woodpecker. They look very similar from afar, and if you don’t see them next to each other, identification can be really tough. I have both visiting, and this week, they both came to the camera too. Both are females, having no red spot on the head. Apart from the size difference, the length of their beaks is a great ID marker. The Hairy Woodpecker in the second photo has a much longer beak. (I know the Hairy photo is not super focused but it showed the beak so well that I decided to use it.) As a bonus, there is a pretty Redbellied Woodpecker from a foggy morning.
