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Red-Headed Woodpecker

There are very few opportunities around Ottawa to photograph the handsome Red-Headed Woodpecker as this area is on the upper fringe of it's normal distribution.

 

I had hoped to get an opportunity to photograph one during my trip to southern Ontario. While many people I met there seemed to have some special encounters with this bird most of the time that I saw one it was high in the trees and obscured with many branches.

 

On the morning of May 13, 2017, near 'The Tip' in Point Pelee National Park, I spotted one Red-Headed Woodpecker who kept returning to the top of one specific tree to feed on the seeds there. I also saw up to 7 Red-Bellied Woodpeckers at a time feeding in the same tree. Despite the height and the many branches between me and the bird I was able to find a small opening through which I could create a few images.

 

Image cropped as the bird was quite small in the frame due to distance.

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Uploaded on May 31, 2017
Taken on May 13, 2017