Hairy woodpecker

The first snow of the season is often when the hairy woodpecker shows up. It lands on a feeder hook with a quiet tap rather than a hammering, black and white and neat as a tuxedo, with a bill nearly as long as its head. It looks a lot like a downy woodpecker that has been scaled up, and telling them apart is a rite of passage for Manitoba feeder watchers: the hairy is bigger, with a long, chisel-like bill.

Hairy woodpeckers stay in Manitoba all year, living in mature deciduous and mixed forest across the south and into the boreal. Males have a small red patch at the back of the head, while females are plain black and white. They drill into trees for beetle larvae and ants, and in winter they readily visit feeders for suet and sunflower seeds. In late winter and spring you may hear them drumming on a hollow branch to claim territory.

Male hairy woodpecker perched on a feeder hook in falling snow

Photos

  • Male hairy woodpecker perched on a feeder hook in falling snow
  • Hairy woodpecker perched on a snow-covered feeder hook in falling snow
  • Male hairy woodpecker showing the white back stripe and red patch on the back of the head

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