The Bird Collection

Downy Woodpecker, female, Tylee Marsh

Downy on the Shelf – Tylee Marsh

The Downy Woodpecker is a year-round resident and a frequent companion on my walks. Tylee Marsh, with its relaxing path and quiet canopy, is one of my favourite places to slow down and observe. Along the path stands an old tree stump—its top weathered flat, its sides cloaked in dense, overlapping shelves of tan and olive fungi. I always imagined it as a stage waiting for the right performer.

That morning, patience paid off.

A female Downy Woodpecker—small, sharp-eyed, and striking in her crisp black and white plumage—landed precisely where I had hoped. Clinging to the fungus-covered bark, she turned to the light, the soft glow outlining the curve of her crown and the tiny barbs of her feathers. The contrast between her smooth form and the rugged texture of the stump created a moment of quiet drama.

A brief pause, a glance toward the lens—and then she was gone. But in that instant, nature offered both the composition and the connection I had long envisioned.