Downy Woodpecker enjoying Autumn

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

~George Eliot

Angry Downy Woodpecker

"No! This is all mine Mr. Nuthatch!"

All for me!

Look up little Downy

“The best PR is when people look up in the sky ... see the snow start to fall.”

-Betsy Strickler

Raspberries!

I think this Downy is giving me a raspberry!!

Catch me if you can

This is a female Downy Woodpecker that was considering eating out of my hand a few weeks ago at the cabin. You should have seen me trying to position the camera in one hand and put seeds in the other to see if I could snap it. (I told my husband he really needs to start being available to take photos of me with my bird friends! ha,ha.) She flew over my hand several times but then decided to head over to the tree. I'm going to see if the Chickadees will vouch for me!

It's nice to share!

This photo made me laugh because the Downy was looking around like he knew someone else was on the feeder and there was the Nuthatch peeking from the other side.

Patient Downy Woodpecker

This male Downy Woodpecker was waiting his turn to eat from one of the suet feeders that the Red bellied Woodpecker was on. There are 2 other suet feeders in my yard, but for some reason he really wanted this particular one. It made me realize how patient and determined he was.

He that can have patience, can have what he will.
-Benjamin Franklin

A tale of 2 woodpeckers

Me: Hi Mrs. Hairy Woodpecker. Glad to see you and hope you're enjoying the suet cakes I've put on the tree for you.

HW: Ssh! I hear something...

HW: Yes, I definitely heard something and it's very loud! I'm going to go investigate. You wait here Shelley. On 2nd thought, quit skimping on the suet cakes and put some more out!

Aww...it's just a small female downy woodpecker! She is welcome to stay, but she is a noisy one for her size!

The best nuts are at the bottom

This male downy was making me laugh. Never seen a woodpecker so particular about which nuts he was going to eat. In the 2nd photograph he is almost laying in the feeder to get the nuts at the bottom. Gotta love him!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are up at the log cabin, winter advisory and already shoveled over 2 feet of snow!

Liking that suet plug feeder

Mr. Downy is gorging himself today.























Mrs. Red bellied decided to give the telephone pole a rest and partake of the suet as well!

Downy Woodpecker at the buffet

Mr. Downy Woodpecker thinks he's at an all you can eat chinese buffet.

"One suet plug down.....one more to go!"

A flash of red

A flash of red - and voila - the male Downy Woodpecker. My winter woodpeckers are coming pack. Now I'm just waiting for the Red-bellied.

Female Downy Woodpecker

I had the female and male Downy Woodpecker come to visit this morning. I was so happy! They really are gregarious birds and not shy. I was hanging out my kitchen window to shoot photos of them and they just gave me a quick glance and continued eating. I'll feature the male tomorrow.

Puffed up Downy Woodpecker

This puffed up Downy Woodpecker graced me with his presence today and enjoyed the peanuts. I think Mr. Grackle extended him the invite!

Slow Birdwatching Day

Today was a "slow" bird day for me! Over 3 hours, I observed 4 house finches, 5 mourning doves, 1 nuthatch and the usual 20 sparrows. I also had a persistent squirrel which I bribed with peanuts thrown on the ground for him so he would quick launching himself from the tree to my feeders.

Eddie - my friend in Northern Michigan (a.k.a "Up North) had a much more impressive day. He shot me an email with this picture of the Pileated, Hairy and Downy woodpecker all eating together.

I was hoping for a good variety of birds so I would have great data input for the Project Feederwatch survey. For those not familiar, this is a winter survey of birds that visit your birdfeeder between November till April. This is run by Cornell University who you then report your data back to. It has also inspired me to put up 6 feeders and a heated birdbath in an attempt to draw every bird that exists in Michigan to my feeder. (After reading 20 bird books, I found out not matter how many feeders I put out - not all birds use them. )

My husband Greg was motivated to put bird seed out in the middle of our yard in the hopes the mourning doves would eat there and a hawk would see them and swoop down and snatch one of them. He's not too far off the mark in thinking this would happen. We were witness to such an event last year in our yard when an innocent mourning dove was out in the open and a sharp shinned hawk swooped down, squeezed him to death - tore his feathers apart like a pillow and then ate him. I managed to snap a couple photos before he flew away with his carcass. Greg is still mulling over how to present the hawk with more bird treats......