Birder's Guide / Good Birds — A Historical Archive
Red-headed Woodpecker

Photos by Steve Case, Florence Germond, Steve Golladay, Carena Pooth, and Ed Solan

 


Adult Male, March 1972
photo by Florence Germond 

An immature Red-headed Woodpecker showed up at Florence Germond's house Nov. 28, 1971. It stayed in the area until April 18, 1972 when it had full adult plumage, then was seen only a few more times, the last time on May 9, 1972. The head started to change in January. The picture at right was probably taken in March 1972. Florence lived on the Shunpike near route 82, in the Town of Washington.

Immature Red-headed Woodpecker, photo by Carena Pooth
Immature, photo by Carena Pooth
Click on image above to enlarge

 

The second photo was taken in Poughquag.  This bird appeared in Carena Pooth's yard October 23-24, 2004 and aggressively drove other woodpeckers away from suet.  It is a juvenile bird, as evidenced by the brown head, but small flecks of red are visible.

 

 

Red-headed Woodpecker at Stony Kill, photo by Steve Golladay
Red-headed Woodpecker
Stony Kill EEC, 1/9/09
Photo by Steve Golladay

Dutchess County is near the eastern edge of the Red-headed Woodpecker's range.  While uncommon, with luck and persistence they can be found.  Their population has fluctuated numerous times in Dutchess County.  After declining for most of the twentieth century, Red-headed Woodpeckers increased from about 1960 to about 1984, only to decline again in the 1990s.

 

1/9/09 from Ed Solan:
Rodney Johnson and I went to Stonykill today to look for the Red-headed Woodpecker during our lunch break. We found it near the Manor House.  What a great find. This was a life bird for me. 

Gallery of photos by Steve Case, Steve Golladay, Ed Solan

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