Thanks to Lucy Quimby for sharing these shots from her photo collection.
22 December 2007, Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus
This is a male Hairy Woodpecker getting ready to eat suet. The photo shows the white back detail that this species has and shares with another woodpecker found in this area, the Downy Woodpecker. Hairy woodpeckers are a larger bird than Downy - 9 1/2 inches compared to Downy's 6 1/2. The Hairy has a larger beak than the Downy and clean white tail feathers.
The red patch divided by a black line on the back of the head is another way to confidently identify this bird as a Hairy Woodpecker. The male Downy has a red patch but no black divider. The red patch is absent in the female of both species.
The voice and call of these two woodpeckers are different too. It's fun to learn the differences in their calls. The birds are both fairly loud but are sometimes too far away to see. From my experiences, they like to hide on the opposite side of tree trunks. Hearing a sharp peek! satisfies my curiosity that it is a Hairy.
This is a male Hairy Woodpecker getting ready to eat suet. The photo shows the white back detail that this species has and shares with another woodpecker found in this area, the Downy Woodpecker. Hairy woodpeckers are a larger bird than Downy - 9 1/2 inches compared to Downy's 6 1/2. The Hairy has a larger beak than the Downy and clean white tail feathers.
The red patch divided by a black line on the back of the head is another way to confidently identify this bird as a Hairy Woodpecker. The male Downy has a red patch but no black divider. The red patch is absent in the female of both species.
The voice and call of these two woodpeckers are different too. It's fun to learn the differences in their calls. The birds are both fairly loud but are sometimes too far away to see. From my experiences, they like to hide on the opposite side of tree trunks. Hearing a sharp peek! satisfies my curiosity that it is a Hairy.
10 December 2007, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis
Eastern Gray Squirrels are abundant in the Bangor area. They cross the city streets like the wild characters they are, bounding confidently along the ground or more dramatically over power lines and trees, often carrying something to add to their hidden food caches. They generally eat tree bark and buds, berries, seeds, nuts, and fungi. In urban areas they are safer from predators like hawk, racoon, weasel, snake, owl and fox and make their nests, called dreys, out of leaves, twigs and moss on large tree branches or in hollow tree trunks. They are crepuscular which means more active during the early and late hours of the day.
For more about wildlife in the Bangor area, visit The More You Know section of bangorlandtrust.org.
Eastern Gray Squirrels are abundant in the Bangor area. They cross the city streets like the wild characters they are, bounding confidently along the ground or more dramatically over power lines and trees, often carrying something to add to their hidden food caches. They generally eat tree bark and buds, berries, seeds, nuts, and fungi. In urban areas they are safer from predators like hawk, racoon, weasel, snake, owl and fox and make their nests, called dreys, out of leaves, twigs and moss on large tree branches or in hollow tree trunks. They are crepuscular which means more active during the early and late hours of the day.
For more about wildlife in the Bangor area, visit The More You Know section of bangorlandtrust.org.
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