One morning I was sitting on my front porch and reading aloud to my boys when these two downy woodpeckers flew into a nearby tree. I was so glad I had my camera with me.

At first we thought it was a male and female courting each other, but we never saw a red patch on the back of either head, which would indicate a male. They looked like two females, and one of them was fussing at the other.

Could it be a mother and a juvenile? Juveniles have red crowns, but they will fade as they mature. Perhaps this mother is trying to tell her offspring that she won’t feed it anymore? But I took this photo on March 24th. Hmmm. Do they nest that early?

Could it be two females fussing over a nest site? We just don’t know. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment!

Downy woodpeckers are the smallest woodpecker in North America. We see them a lot in our yard, and we love them.

What birds have you seen lately?