Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This lovely woodpecker takes its name from a small reddish or pinkish area on the belly, which it usually keeps hidden against a tree trunk. It’s slowly spreading north as northern conifers die back with warming and more hardwoods become available for them. Most of my best photos were taken in 2016 when a pair nested in a box elder in my yard–the first nest found in St. Louis County!