Terasa's Corner
Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest and most often sighted American Woodpecker. It can be found throughout most of North America in a variety of habitats and often visits feeders.
Often confused with the Hairy Woodpecker, they have a black and white streaked pattern on their back with a solid white front. The male Downy can be identified by its red color on the back of the head. Bill length is also used to distinguish these species with the Downy having a bill about half the length of the head and the Hairy having a bill almost as long as the head.
This woodpecker feeds on insects, especially ones found in dead wood where it likes to nest. The female Downy typically lays between four and five eggs which are incubated for approximately 12 days. Hatchlings leave the nest after about 21 days.
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Terasa Young
Lynches River Environmental Discovery Center Supervisor
Originally from upstate New York, Terasa moved to South Carolina in 1996 to attend Coastal Carolina University. While studying at CCU, she conducted research on the foraging preference of ghost crabs on Waites Island, SC. She also worked as an undergraduate staff member of Jump for the Sun; an NSF funded grant to encourage women and girls in Math and Science. After graduating in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, she taught Biology with Horry County Schools. She then served as Education Program Coordinator and later as Program Director for the Children's Museum of South Carolina.
Seeking to share her love of nature with others she joined the Florence County Recreation Department as the Environmental Discovery Center Supervisor (EDC) in July 2007. As Supervisor, she manages the operation of the EDC and oversees the development and implementation of environmental education and outdoor recreational programs and services.