I spent about two hours on the trail yesterday, hoping to get some bird photos, with very little success.  After a long rest on a bench, again without getting any shots, I started down the trail to the car.  As I got a hundred yards or so down the trail, I heard a Downy Woodpecker drumming.  I was able to spot him very quickly because he was working on a small tree just off the trail.  I was already closer to him than I have ever gotten to one of these birds without startling them away, so I stopped and took a couple of shots.  He acted like he hadn't even noticed me, so I began creeping in closer  and repositiong myself for a better angle.  I was able to get a couple dozen shots of him at quite a close range as he hopped from one tree to another over a period of several minutes, allowing me each time to get into a position with the sun to my back for the best light.  I say patience and luck because if I had not had the patience to stay on the trail as long as I did, I would not have gotten these shots, probably my favorite woodpecker shots yet.  Luck because I almost never see this birds at or below eye level so close to the trail, and the few times that I have, they are fly off almost as soon as I see them.