woodpeckers attack!

A downy and red-bellied woodpecker came for a visit today. Both seemed especially hungery, making several return visits to the feeder and the downy was stashing his find in the same tree as the feeder. I wonder how long it will take other visitors to find his goodies?

Saving for a Rainy Day

I have already posted pics of the red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) at my backyard feeder. However, here is one that collected his own food and is saving it for later. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are known to store their food in cracks and crevasses; this one is certainly good at it.

Woodpecker or Hummingbird?

It would appear that New England Downy Woodpeckers have a sweet tooth. My good friend (and mother of my son-in-law), Suzanne, sent me these great pics from Rhode Island. I have to admit I had never seen this before in my backyard. I have caught woodpeckers eating my sunflower seeds and even pecking away at a slice of watermelon I left out for the butterflies, but never slurping from our hummingbird feeders. Interesting pics, indeed. Thanks Suzanne and keep the pics coming.

A Pair of Pileateds

I apologize for the quality of the pics, but these Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) have been hard for me to find within camera range and even harder to get a clear shot. I spotted this pair at the DeGray Lake marina and this was the best I could get out of the dozens of pictures I took. Pine tree branches just kept coming between me and the birds. Since these guys are year round residents and usually will stake out and defend their territory, maybe I will get some better shots of this pair at a later date.

With the exception of the ivory-billed, these woodpeckers are the largest North American woodpeckers. The pileated woodpecker almost disappeared with the clearing of the eastern forests, but is slowly and steadily increasing in all their native states with the exception of Arkansas according to the experts. This I can believe because I can always remember these birds being quite common when I was growing up, but they can be rather hard to find now.

Daily Visitor

This Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpus carolinus) spends hours in my backyard eating suet and sunflower seeds. One day a squirrel thought he was going to challenge this woodpecker for the sunflower seeds only to receive a "peck" right between the eyes. I never laughed so hard at wildlife in my life. The squirrel was shocked. Talk about entertainment. These woodpeckers are common and are year round residents of the SE United States. They are equipped to catch insects. Their barbed tongues can stick out 2" beyond their beaks and their saliva is very sticky (note the food stuck to his beak in pic above). These guys can live up to 10 years, so I look forward to many more antics from this fellow who holds the record for the most entertaining birds in my backyard.