Here is a juvenile Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker Male Juvenile 01 by Phil in CA, on Flickr
Hairy Woodpecker Male Juvenile 03 by Phil in CA, on Flickr
Hairy Woodpecker Male Juvenile 06 by Phil in CA, on Flickr
Hairy Woodpecker Male Juvenile 07 by Phil in CA, on Flickr
Here is the same Hairy Woodpecker with his mother. I had seen her feeding him earlier this summer!
Hairy Woodpecker Male Juvenile Mother 05 by Phil in CA, on Flickr
I found a picture of mom feeding son...
Hairy Woodpecker mother feeding son by Phil in CA, on Flickr
Nice ones, Phil. Really like that first shot.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
When the Europeans were introducing animals to Australia, why did they have to introduce rabbits and foxes? Couldn't they have picked a nice selection of hummingbirds and woodpeckers instead?
Really like the first photo, they look like pretty amusing birds to watch!
Ah, Lachlan. Perhaps not such a good idea. Our native birds have enough competition as it is. And we don't want to be putting ideas into people's heads.
Naah, I'm not suggesting that someone does it now! But, imagine if instead of releasing rabbits 1859 Thomas Austin had released a few hummingbirds instead? I think a few hummingbirds would do less ecological damage, and fill a niche not entirely occupied in Australia.
But, what's done is done, and we have rabbits and foxes. Such a shame, you would think the acclimatisation societies of the 19th century could have chosen something more interesting and less damaging than rabbits!
Great photos. It's always fun seeing birds from other countries. :)
Agree on the introduced species. You only have to look at the plague of Indian Mynahs that are around now.
Would still rather Indian Mynahs over rabbits... Mind you, neither would be preferable!
I did mean it as a joke though... Sorry if it was in bad taste.
Thank you all for the nice comments!
And think... no need to build a "Rabbit Proof Fence" at all!
We're transplanting ourselves back to California next week, so I may not have time to upload any more pictures until we get settled back there....
Thank you all for sure a warm welcome! I am so glad I found BiBY!
Best wishes to y'all down under!
Phil