Very nice, Julie.  The side-by-side pix really show off that 
dramatic difference in proportion with the bill.

I've always taught beginners that if you're having trouble 
figuring out whether you've got a Downy or a Hairy, it's a Downy. 
  If you're used to seeing Downys, as most of us are, a Hairy 
looks like a tank.

Jane


Julie Waters wrote:

> One of the really easy mistakes for new birders to make is confusing 
> Hairy and Downy woodpeckers; their markings are similar, but there are 
> some very distinct differences.  None of this is news to you guys, and 
> this photo won't be anything new to anyone who's been birding for any 
> amount of time, but I put this together for really new birders as one of 
> the easy ways to resolve confusion between two easy to distinguish birds 
> which look difficult to distinguish at first.
> 
> So here's what happened-- by dumb luck, I got two photos in the same 
> day: one of a downy and one of a hairy, in almost the exact same 
> position on the exact same feeder.  I then scaled them to a very similar 
> size and stuck them next to one another using Photoshop for easy side by 
> side view:
> 
> http://juliesmagiclightshow.com/?&pic=2700
> 
> Anyway, if you think anyone who's new to birding would find this 
> helpful, feel free to pass it on.  If you want to include the photo in 
> your own blog and/or website, there's a "use" link on the page which 
> will give you a text box with HTML code you can paste into a blog to add 
> it to your own web-based pieces as well.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> --julie