Downy Woodpecker and Bufflehead Duck

A male downy woodpecker at the Connetquot River State Park

A downy woodpecker people-watching in Connetquot

A downy woodpecker (in my backyard) with suet on his beak.

Today’s weather was gloomy, but the temperature was mild at least.  I started off my walk at the Connetquot River State Park thinking I’d see nothing of interest, but I was wrong about that.  After walking for about a mile, I went over to the bird feeders to do some birdwatching. While there, I got some decent photos of a downy woodpecker. Downies are fairly common birds that I see almost on a daily basis at my backyard feeders. They are the smallest of the all the North American woodpeckers, but are both cute and striking in appearance, especially the males. They have a small bright red patch on the back of their heads. While I was snapping away with my camera, a sharp-shinned hawk flew into a pine tree next to the feeders. Undoubtedly, he was looking for a meal. My presence seemed to startle him and he flew away. Before leaving, I checked out the pond near the main house and saw a bufflehead duck in the distance. When seen from far away, male bufflehead ducks look as if they are black and white in coloring, but that is not the case. They actually have deep purple and green coloring on their heads. Too bad I don't have a better zoom lens, I might have gotten a picture of the duck's true coloring. The cherry on my sundae (or rather Sunday) was seeing a fox running into the woods when I was pulling out of the parking area. It was good to see that there are still foxes in the Connetquot River State Park. I had not seen one in many months.