Land of the Red-headed Woodpeckers

I’ve only seen a handful of Red-headed Woodpeckers visit my yard over the years. They are such striking birds.

A few weeks ago my friend and I visited a wildlife refuge that is full of Red-headed Woodpeckers. In fact that day we saw more Red-headed Woodpeckers than Downy, Hairy or Red-bellied Woodpeckers combined.

Out in the fields the birds were taking off from the tops of trees and flying straight up in the air to catch insects. I’ve never seen a woodpecker do that before.

Sometimes people confuse Red-headed Woodpeckers with Red-bellied Woodpeckers because both species have some red on their heads. You can see the little patch of red on the belly of this Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the red on his head is in more of a mohawk pattern.