Downy Woodpecker Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: How can you not love Downy Woodpeckers? They're such cute little guys, they're ubiquitous, seemingly found in every part of the state with any substantial tree cover, and they're generally not very shy. From a photographer's perspective I certainly appreciate the latter point! However, because they're such a common sight, and because I have a number of photos of them already, I admit I don't target them for photography when I go out for a day. Nor, do I try to shoot the always present Downy Woodpeckers at my feeders, although many of the early photos below were indeed taken in my yard. Something to work on in the future, as they are such great, photogenic subjects!

My favorite photo is of a male perched on a fallen log amidst the fallen oak leaves in Autumn. It was taken on November 7th, 2007 at the Big Sioux Recreation Area in Brandon, the state park across the street from where we live. I had a wonderful time shooting a number of bird species at the park that fall, as it was a great year for some of the birds that are only around this part of South Dakota in the winter months (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finches, etc.). A nice profile shot and pose, good soft lighting that lets the details in both the black and white plumage show through, and a great autumn setting.

Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens


Downy Woodpecker 1	Downy Woodpecker 2	Downy Woodpecker 3	Downy Woodpecker 4
February 6th, 2006	May 21st, 2006	November 3rd, 2004	November 21st, 2007
Perry Nature Area, South Dakota	Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Brandon, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota
Both a male and a female on opposite sides of the tree trunk	Female hanging out on the shade side of a tree trunk	Male Downy Woodpecker clinging to lichen-covered tree	Profile of a dapper female perched on side of a tree

Downy Woodpecker 5	Downy Woodpecker 6	Downy Woodpecker 7	Downy Woodpecker 8
April 11th, 2005	February 16th, 2007	July 20th, 2008	July 20th, 2008
Brandon, South Dakota	Perry Nature Area, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Kingsbury County, South Dakota	Kingsbury County, South Dakota
Male feeding on suet in cavity on dead tree	Profile of a male clinging to bark of a tree	Female hanging out in on a shady tree	Male clinging upside down on a tree brnch

Downy Woodpecker 9	Downy Woodpecker 10	Downy Woodpecker 11	Downy Woodpecker 12
September 2nd, 2007	November 7th, 2007	November 7th, 2007	November 21st, 2007
Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota
Female (first year?) calling from a curved tree branch	Male perched on fallen log amidst fallen autumn leaves	Male perched on fallen log amidst fallen autumn leaves	Female hugging closely to a tree trunk as a nearby raptor flies through

Downy Woodpecker 13	Downy Woodpecker 14	Downy Woodpecker 15	Downy Woodpecker 16
March 21st, 2010	May 11th, 2011	May 11th, 2011	February 8th, 2011
Perry Nature Area, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Brandon, South Dakota	Brandon, South Dakota	Big Sioux Recreation Area, South Dakota
Male perched on tree branch with blue sky in the background	Male doing some damage to the trees in my landscaping!	Female grabbing a sunflower seed snack at my feeder	Female doing what Downy Woodpeckers do

Downy Woodpecker 17	Downy Woodpecker 18
May 17th, 2013	May 3rd, 2020
Beaver Creek Nature Area near Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Female still working on her nesting cavity as breeding season approaches	Male in dappled sunshine on a warm spring day