A Downy Woodpecker was busy gathering a meal on a dead branch.
He scraped some kind of insects off the back side, then peaked down into the end.
He sat a moment while looking for his next stop.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
April 14, 2026
The wooded area around the Cypress Wetlands wading bird rookery is rife with other birds, including several species of Woodpecker. I heard this Downy Woodpecker doing his thing, then saw him working this branch, round and round.
Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
May 7, 2025
A Downy Woodpecker provided me with several photographic opportunities on a late November walk.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
November 16, 2023
A Downy Woodpecker was very intent on eating these dried berries. The spot had just been vacated by a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and this diminutive woodpecker hardly moved as he took a turn from what looked like an awkward spot.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
November 16, 2023
A Downy Woodpecker chose a wide open spot on a vine wrapped tree for a moment of rest.
I haven’t seen many Downy Woodpeckers lately; 2018 was the last time I had one on this blog.
This one posed for a few images before getting to work looking for food.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 15, 2022
This dead tree is a favorite with a number of woodpeckers, including a Red-bellied Woodpecker pair that was making a nest that I photographed last month.
While I was checking in on that activity on a recent visit a Red-bellied Woodpecker was nearly camouflaged high in the tree along with what I think was a recently fledged family of Downy Woodpeckers. They were a long way up and I couldn’t get an angle for a good image but did catch this one in flight.
I heard the “tat tat tat” over my head and finally spotted a Downy Woodpecker on the underside of a branch just above me, industriously pecking away.
He spiraled around the limb, tatting as he went.
Finished inspecting that branch, he moved into a tree that has leafed out and quickly disappeared into the greenery.
A Downy Woodpecker right out where you can see her! An advantage to winter is less viewing obstruction of the little birds as they go about their business.
This one wasn’t doing much pecking but investigated around this tree trunk.
She left me with a perfect profile shot, compete with lichen framing.
Click any photo for a larger view.
Around and around the tree she went, looking for a good place to peck.
Downy Woodpeckers are striking with their black and white patterns and fun to watch. This female seemed small even for a Downy, but she had plenty of zip as she foraged in the tree line at the edge of the swamp.
Downy Woodpeckers are fun to watch as they rotate around a branch. This one stopped to peek where a limb had broken away. 
The trees at Meigs Point are a popular spot for these Woodpeckers, sometimes giving their location away with their tat-tat-tat searching for food.
