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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,
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
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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