Standing perfectly still while filming during yesterday’s gloriously warm afternoon, a beautiful female Downy Woodpecker flew to a tree not five feet from where I was working. She was very much obscured by foliage as she tapped her way up and down the trunk, turning the tree into a pantry for her winter supply of nuts and seeds. For a quicksilver moment I caught a clear look and snapped a shot through the leaves.

Downy Woodpeckers are common on Cape Ann throughout all four seasons.