Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Here's another bird that likes to hop around upside down. This is a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), probably a female since the males have a red patch on the back of their heads and I couldn't see any red on this one as she hopped around looking for bugs in the bark. (Click here to see some shots of a male Downy Woodpecker.) She was sharing the same Garry Oak as the Brown Creeper we looked at a few days ago. They actually seemed to be hunting together since they arrived together and departed at the same time.

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The West Bay Walkway continues to provide an amazing amount of wildlife sightings for an urban environment. This morning on an hour's walk I saw a Harbour Seal, 3 Northern River Otters, 2 Belted Kingfishers, 5 Hooded Mergansers, a Great Blue Heron, small flocks of European Starlings and Robins, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, as well as a wide variety of joggers and walkers.