American Three-toed Woodpecker Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: In South Dakota, American Three-toed Woodpeckers are permanent residents, but only in the Black Hills, and only in very small numbers. Given we live on the far opposite side of the state and it's at least a 5-hour drive to get into any area where you might possibly see one, it's not a species I've encountered often in South Dakota. On the few times I have seen them, it's typically been as a fly-over, or a quick glimpse.

Thus all the photos below, including the 'favorite', are of the same bird, one that was quite cooperative for the camera compared to the other American Three-toed Woodpeckers I've come across. The lighting wasn't great, given it was about high noon on a cloudless July day, but I'll take it! From near Mystic, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, on July 13th, 2019. What I particularly DO like about some of the photos is that you can clearly see "just" the three toes.

American Three-toed Woodpecker - Picoides dorsalis


American Three-toed Woodpecker 1 Near Mystic, Black Hills, South Dakota	American Three-toed Woodpecker 2 Near Mystic, Black Hills, South Dakota	American Three-toed Woodpecker 3 Near Mystic, Black Hills, South Dakota	American Three-toed Woodpecker 4 Near Mystic, Black Hills, South Dakota

American Three-toed Woodpecker 5 Near Mystic, Black Hills, South Dakota