Lunchtime for this little guy!
With the weather getting colder it’s starting to get busy at the feeders.
Suet is loved by just about all the birds and even squirrels try to get to it.
Hairy and downy woodpeckers are almost impossible to tell apart when encountered individually. But if you look at their bills, you’ll notice that the hairy woodpecker’s bill is long and slender, whereas the downy’s bill is rather short and stubby for its head size. The males have a bright red patch on the backs of their heads which makes it easy to tell them apart from the females.
Which woodpeckers live in your area?
in cahoots with muddy boots 
Rosalie is getting quite a few birds at her feeders now. Hummers, Titmouse, Towees. They especially love the birdbath I set up because it hasn’t rained since briefly in early Oct. But you know what California’s like. I will have to get a suet feeder set up so we can see some woodpeckers. Happy birdwatching!
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Hey Christine, I can imagine Rosalie sitting by the window and watching the activity outside. Bird baths are so important, especially when it doesn’t rain. I even have a heated one for when it freezes. Happy birdwatching to you guys too!
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What great up-close pictures Sabine – you sure can tell this woodpecker is enjoying his suet treat from the calisthenics it it going through to retrieve it. We have red-bellied woodpeckers which I see at the Park occasionally.
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Thanks Linda! I just googled the red-bellied woodpecker since I’m unfamiliar with them. They too are quite striking. I enjoy watching all the different woodpeckers as they each have different behaviors.
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Sometimes when I am walking in the Park or through a neighborhood on a quiet morning, I hear the taps of the woodpecker drilling into a tree. I finally saw a woodpecker in the Park earlier this year and took a picture but it was not a clear picture, as it was mostly the woodpecker’s back in an old, dead tree and I referred to it as a Downy Woodpecker – I was going by the black and white plumage and red spot on its head and a fellow blogger told me it was the Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a little bigger though its front is really not red at all but very similar looking. Yours was quite animated as it angled in on that suet holder. 🙂
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Linda, the woodpeckers here tap on our shake roof during the mating season in the spring. It reverberates through the entire house! 😊
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Oh for goodness sake Sabine – it is not bad enough they tap on the trees … they will wear out their welcome!
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I love that they’re eating upside down. Not sure what type live in our area 🧐
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Missy, I imagine you probably have a lot of the same ones that we have over here. There are quite a few birds that eat upside down. They make it look so easy!
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They sure do!
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I don’t know how you do it! Love those photos. I could see them up close and still not be able to tell the difference. You know your birds. 😉
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Marlene, thank you! All I did was take the camera outside and parked myself in the shrubs next to the feeders. It takes a few minutes of being really still and then the birds come and eat. This little guy was so much fun to watch. When he was finished he just spread his wings and flew off into the woods. 😉
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I can just see you sitting there. 😉 I have no patience and can’t sit still. That could be my problem. 😉
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It’s a kind of meditation for me. To just be still and observe. Sometimes with, and sometimes without camera. They are so incredibly beautiful to see right in front of you. 😉
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We get great spotted and green woodpeckers. The green ones hop across the lawn eating ants, and the great spotted ones come to the birdfeeder sometimes. I often see them along the lane too, as they have such a strange, bobbing flying pattern. They don’t look designed to fly.
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You’re right about their flight patterns. Distinctive bobbing for sure! I find their body movements quite stiff which perhaps is an advantage when you climb trees all your life! I’m not familiar with your woodpeckers, but will google them! 😊
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