Update: first Red-headed woodpecker at Ijams

Juvenile red-headed woodpecker. Photo by Jason Dykes

Jason Dykes visited Ijams last weekend and managed to get the best photo yet of the juvenile red-headed woodpecker hanging around the parking lot at the Visitor Center.

Adult red-headed woodpecker. Photo: wiki commons.

At Ijams we are always in search of the teachable moment: Note that juvenile birds do not look like adult birds, so identification can be tricky.

The Ijams' bird is maturing (see Jason's photo above), the adult red feathers on the head are starting to grow. In a few weeks the entire head will be red, the upper back will be black and the lower back—made up of the secondary wing feathers—will be white, creating a very striking adult bird. (See photo at left.)

This is the first ever red-headed woodpecker documented at Ijams. Woo-hoo. 

Here's hoping our bird hangs around awhile so we can witness the transformation. 

- Stephen Lyn Bales.