Monday, March 23, 2009

A Red-bellied's red belly!

We don’t often get to see a Red-bellied Woodpecker’s red belly. Because woodpeckers spend most of their time hugging branches, limbs or tree trunks, the belly goes unobserved. When I took this photo, I didn’t realize I captured his rosy-colored belly feathers and was surprised when I brought it up in Aperture to crop it down.

I wouldn't call this the reddest belly out there, 
but if you look closely, you can see the rosy color.


Kel, the feeder is getting low! 
 ...if I can just turn upside down, I might be able to….


Everyone thinks those pesky little downies are so 
cute, but I’ve a few cute tricks up my sleeve as well…


…try my left side...I think it's better…

17 comments:

Laure Ferlita said...

Oh, Kelly, these captures are fabulous and your comments really take it up a notch!! I don't think I've ever seen a Red Belly Woodpecker before - they're beautiful!

Unknown said...

Lovely shots, looks smaller than the woodpeckers we have over here.

Paul.

Roy said...

Yup, Red-bellies are natural-born hams. They're photogenic and they know it. Good capture on getting the rosy chest feathers; they don't always show up.

Kim said...

Gorgeous photos! I love his adorable red belly!

Andy said...

That's quite the neck turn and they do have a red belly!

Shelley said...

I love watching the red bellied stretch his neck in these photos! They are so beautiful!!

Uncommon Depth said...

Beautiful little bird. He's very sweet! Nice photos too.

Nick S said...

They really are beautiful Woodpeckers aren't they Kelly.
You're very lucky to have those in your yard. Nice shots :-)

Jayne said...

Oh, he's beautiful Kelly! I think that's a great shot of his rosy belly, and I LOVE the upside down head... too funny!

ShySongbird said...

Hi Kelly,
I have just found my way to you after finding the comment you kindly left on my blog, thank you.
What a lovely site you have, your photos are beautiful and I loved the Red-bellied Woodpecker. I shall come back soon, when I am not in such a hurry, to look back through your archives.

Chris said...

Hi Kelly,
It's nice you got to see it and got pictures of it. The picture are really nice as woodpecker are so hard to get... The green one I saw in Paris was all the time in high branches and it was impossible to take pictures!!!

Warren Baker said...

Blimey Kelly, How many species of woodpecker do you have over there?!

E said...

Wonderful pics, great woodpeckers, I love them. Excellents pics, Kelita, thanks for sharing. It is so interesting. Hugs

Kelly said...

laure...they are beautiful and fun...very striking in the trees.

Paul...thanks! he is a medium-sized woodpecker. Much larger than the downies...

Roy...thanks, Roy. That red nape really helps them out. I think it's the first time I ever captured the red belly feathers!

Kallen...Thank you!

Andy...thanks...so funny. Watching him turn upside down through the lens was comical. Had never seen that before either.

Shelley...Thanks! ...another yoga bird!

Uncommon...thank you!!

Nick...they are. The combination of the red-orange nape and black and white bars always catches my eye and makes me happy.

Jayne...thanks. It's always fun when you get "fun" captures!

Shy...Thank you! Please keep coming back. I will definitely keep dropping by your site!!

Chris...I got this guy through my family room window...it looks into the tree, so that made it nice. Soon the leaves will be out in full force and these angles will stop!

Warren...we do have quite a few, thank goodness, because they are so beautiful and fun. ...and there is even that Ivory-billed Woodpecker which may or may not be extinct!

Enita...Thank you!!! I always love when I hear from you!

Mary said...

Great shots! They are truly one of the prettiest woodpeckers and one of my favorites. I seldom see the red belly, but they have a reddish patch lower down on the belly. I got a couple photos during the winter that showed it.

Heather said...

Ha, I love the picture with his head upside down! (or maybe it was a her... I didn't look closely enough). I see you've added the Eastern Phoebe to your big list - hooray! Dave and I are going to the Hocking Hills tomorrow for a Woodcock watch. I'm pretty unfamiliar with the bird, but I hear there have been confirmed sightings of them in Hocking Hills, so I hope we'll get to observe them displaying!

Kelly said...

Mary...I agree. They are one of my favorites too. I'm always happy when I see him in the Ash tree in the back yard.

Heather...yes, I heard the Phoebe at the rookery. One of my favorites. I wish I had a nesting pair like you do!!! Good luck with the Woodcocks. It's one of the birds I hoped to catch this year. I hope you see a display.