Downy Woodpecker

Steve Kilpatrick photographed this male Downy Woodpecker chiseling out a nest cavity in a dead Red Bay tree on 4 Apr 2010 at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Steve notes that all of the work so far has been done by the male. He carries a lot of wood chips out in each beak full and he tosses the chips by spinning his head versus just dropping the chips.