It's a Boy!

A young Red-bellied Woodpecker has been visiting our suet feeder regularly for the past few weeks. It has been very shy, though, and I haven't even gotten a good enough look to see whether it is a male or a female.

Yesterday it finally got used to our presence and let me watch - and photograph - it.



As you can see, it has red stretching back from its beak. So it's a male. Females have red only on the top and back of their heads.