A Day on Merganser Lake XXII

Here’s a stately photo of a female red-bellied woodpecker. Males have red extending mullet-style from behind the bill all of the way down the lower neck area. Females have less red, such as this one. A photo of a male is included at the bottom of this post for comparison.

Many people call these red-headed woodpeckers, but that name is taken by another woodpecker that truly has an all red head. Red-headed woodpeckers are not seen often in New England. Red-bellied woodpeckers are now common in southern New England and working their way up north.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)