Downy Woodpecker

I threw one in my dryer but instead of softening my towels, it just got feathers and blood all over everything.

We have a pair of them that live in a tree in our backyard, but I have never seen any young ones. There were sparrows that tried to take over their nest inside the tree but they ran them off.

Is he homosexual?

I think I may have shot a few of these on the ranch.

What about the Snowy Owl?

Thank you, R5.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

The hawk at something or he would not have made that call. It was probably under his feet.

They call to their mate to let them know.

Do you get goldfinches in summer?

I see the largest wood peckers all the time, they are very loud. I think Downy are the smallest.

I love watching the birds.

This is the largest wood pecker...

"Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?"

There are sightings of the officially extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers now and then, it's like the Bigfoot of the bird world.

Blue Jay on the lookout. They are very timid. It's had to get a picture of them.

One is feeding on my chimney. He's going to lose his life if he doesn't back off.

I thought they liked peanuts, not chimneys.

Blue jays are not shy where I live. They are like jackals, always in a pack.

They are raucous bullies at my feeder and the other birds give them a wide berth.

They are the flying jackasses of the bird world.

I have downies, ladderbacks, flickers and redbellies.

The redbellies don't have red bellies. They have red on their heads, but there was already a redheaded woodpecker, so I guess that's why they stupidly gave the redbelly a misnomer.

I like them all. I think the redbellies are very attractive and sort of delicate looking as they slink up tree trunks. I like the bright yellow underwing feathers of the golden shafted northern flicker.

[quote] One is feeding on my chimney. He's going to lose his life if he doesn't back off.

Sometimes they drum on wood to attract a mate. I've seen them do drum solos on bird houses, doghouses and people houses in the springtime. I guess they have mating season year-round in warmer climates.

R15, when I was a kid there was a huge honeysuckle vine next to my bedroom window. It was a favorite nesting site for hummingbirds. One day I heard a big ruckus and saw a blue jay destroying hummingbird nests. I watched a group of hummingbirds kill that jay by darting at him with their beaks, over and over, too fast for him to defend himself.

Blue jays are very smart, like crows. They are corvids. Corvids have a larger brain pan and that's why blue jays and crows have a higher mortality rate from West Nile encephalitis than other birds do.

Blue jays do things like imitating hawk shrieks to scare the other birds away from feeders. Adolescent blue jays can be like adolescent kids --- loud, obnoxious, making really weird sounds and faces.

When I slept in a bedroom that had a window next to a tree, they would wake me up every morning by sitting in the tree branches and calling into the bedroom while looking straight at me. They were like, "Outta bed, you! It's peanut time!"

They save other birds by sounding the alarm when a predator is near. They chase ravens, hawks and owls from their hiding places. I can always tell when one of the hawks is in my yard because the blue jays put up a fuss. I usually shoo it away.

If you want good variety of birds, you need a good quality mix of birdseed. Unfortunately, birdseed has become expensive. But if you buy a mix of millet, sunflower, safflower, peanut chips, raisins or other dried fruit, you should get a lot of birds at the feeder.

In winter I get tons of cardinals, blue jays, doves, chickadees, tufted titmice, red breasted nuthatches, white breasted nuthatches, a variety of woodpeckers, juncos, white throated sparrows, song sparrows, robins (lots of robins don't migrate), house sparrows, drab looking goldfinches in their green winter feathers, some grackles and red winged blackbirds, Carolina wrens, fly-throughs of packs off cedar wax wings early in winter when my pear tree is fruiting. It puts out tiny pears that birds love.

In February, large flocks of grackles and r g blackbirds return from migration and basically ruin things.

OP -

This is really cool, and I'm not really a bird guy or anything, but good on you for tracking your little woodpecker friend.

If you could swing the cost, buy one of those DropCams, preferably the HD one. It's a wifi camera that comes with free streaming. You just plug it in, connect it to your wifi network and you can make it public or share with friends. Would be fun to have your own live downy woodpecker cam... Though it's $199 you may not wanna blow on such a toy.

We live in Maine and have one pointed out at the ocean and I love sharing it with people to watch live the snowstorms and blizzards we have or the really nice view outside in the summer.

Thanks for the nice post!

Wow, a bird feeding thread on DL.

I get the little Downies all year on suet feeders, and have seen some larger woodpeckers and flickers on occasion, usually in summer and fall. Nuthatches, too. Besides suet, they all like the peanuts in an expensive squirrel proof feeder, as well.

I added a freeze proof shallow bath this winter, and all the little guys seem very happy with it.

Winter is Cardinal Time. If there's snow in the air or on the ground, they come in groups of six to twenty, especially at dawn and dusk. A few stay year-round. Sparrows by the score, chickadees and a couple of pairs of Mourning Doves are around all year.

A hawk or two have come by and scared everything off a few times while I've watched. I've seen evidence they have caught and eaten smaller birds every few weeks.

Blue Jays, goldfinches and Baltimore Orioles will be back in late winter or spring -- the Orioles only for a few days unless I ever convince them to nest and stay.

Starlings and grackles, unwanted hogs, will also be back for the warm weather.

Chipmunks and the odd wild turkey poking around are welcome back. Raccoon hooligans-- they can stay away.

Great picture OP. You've got a close spot to see birds.

Can we talk about that prison wall in the background though....

We get Lewis's woodpeckers around here. Strangely elegant birds in person.

Beautiful, R24.

I've never seen that bird but I'd like too, r24.

Other than the Cedar Wax Wings, R20 describes the type of birds that visit my little townhouse backyard.

My favorite is the male Red-bellied Woodpecker. He is distinctive looking and his sounds are vastly different than any other bird that visits my yard.

Blue jays are just blue crows.

I have a myna where I live and it talks.

These are not the kinds of peckers I expected to be discussing (and seeing) on Datalounge.

There is nothing, and no one, cuter than Marnie.

I have a woodpecker in my pants.

R22, great post. Where do you live?

To Maineguy, I know you said you aren't a bird guy but Maine is a great place for birding. I love the coast, Rockport, Rockland, Camden...

I'm thinking of making a birding trip to Maine this summer. When should I go - June? July? August? September?

Is any particular month more crowded, more expensive, more buggy, or more inconvenient? Any areas to avoid, near the coast? Portland okay to stay in?

They do get those pesky no see 'ems there. Just best to skip the entire state entirely.

[quote] Blue Jays, goldfinches and Baltimore Orioles will be back in late winter or spring

We don't get Orioles until late April/early May. My pear tree draws plenty of them when in it's in bloom.

I'm so sad. I went food shopping today and when I came back I heard a tufted titmouse calling and calling as I unloaded groceries. Then I spotted a pile of feathers and some blood on the snow. The hawk had been successful while I was gone :( I know hawks have to eat too, but do they have to kill my titmice? Why don't they chow down on starlings or one of the 5 million house sparrows?The poor little surviving titmouse was calling for it's missing mate.

We have great horned owls, Eastern screech owls and either long eared or short eared owls -- I forget which length the ear is. I identified it one night by tracking down what I thought was a wounded small cat. My tracking led to a tree and there was the owl sitting up there making the cat sounds.

We haven't had any rabbits since the great horned owls moved in. I miss my bunnies. Every year I would get one who would become semi tame in summer and stretch out in the yard while I did my gardenin, as if he was a companion dog.

[quote] a few (cardinals) stay year-round.

They are non- migratory.

You see a lot of them at the feeder in winter because they cooperate in winter for survival and will travel together. But as soon as spring mating season comes along, the males will stake out their territory and chase other males away. They usually won't tolerate another male Cardinal at the feeder and chase it away. So that's why you don't see a lot of cardinals gathering at the feeder together in spring and summer.

You will know cardinal mating season is here when you hear the males loudly singing, "Pretty, pretty, pretty!" And "Pyoo, pyoo, pyoo."

We had a pet blue Jay when I was a kid. He could say help, get down and Joanne.

I'm in central NY state, r32.

Interesting about the cardinals cooperating in winter and getting territorial in warmer weather.

We had about 5 inches of snow overnight and more coming, so any minute now they'll be flopping around in the snow on the deck (they usually start with seed that fell from the feeders)

Don't even talk to us about bird feeding or bird watching. Just don't. Please...

I have pigeons, they take massive white dumps on my gay neighbors, who seem to, for some reason, think eating shit is a form of sex.

Funny, a male pileated woodpecker flew through my neighbor's yard, calling, shortly before I read this thread.

Where I've been living for 2 years there are many pet cats who spend time outdoors, and some ferals. For the first time in my life I won't put up feeders because all these cats will have a bloody buffet. At first it pissed me off but then I realized I had the opportunity to see a much more natural bird scene in the yard. I live on a steep hillside overlooking a very small pond surrounded by mostly deciduous trees. No one goes down there so it's a great place to watch for wildlife. I watched a pair of owls defending their territory right outside my living room window, and one afternoon last fall a family group of turkey buzzards surprised me by hanging out in the trees, at eye level, right behind the house.

Every day, sometime between 11-1 pm, a male hairy woodpecker comes to the back of the house and pecks for insects in the wood around a window set high above the stairs to the second floor. I've caught glimpses of him from time to time. His daily visit is so predictable. (Yes, the wood around the window is punky and my landlord isn't about to spend money replacing it.)

Yeah, it can be tough to see hawks take songbirds at feeders. When hawks show up it gives a new meaning to the term 'bird feeder.' It's usually Cooper's Hawks or Sharp Shinned who hang around feeders here. Smart, fast birds of prey. I knew of one Cooper's who learned to chase small birds so they'd crash into windows and die or get stunned long enough for the hawk to carry it away.

I have a parrot who watched calmly, with total fascination, while a Cooper's hawk pulled all the feathers off a junco he'd killed at the nearby feeder one winter. The parrot was perched right next to the window and the hawk was perched in a bush about 10 feet away. Well, parrots do enjoy tearing into a chicken drumstick, and they always crack it open for the marrow too. Maybe my parrot was envious of the hawk's catch!

We have sleet now and that is the worst weather for the guinea fowl. They can shake off snow and rain, but sleet will ice their feathers and that's no good. They have no shelter. Normally, they gather under my holly hedge when it rains and huddle for warmth, but my holly hedges are covered with snow from the last storm. They're just out there, exposed and getting drenched. I wish it would stop. Just stop.

Can you put out some kind of shelter for them?

This is the guy screeching outside my bedroom window. Maybe he was lost.

That hawk was a pretty big boy!

[quote]This is the guy screeching outside my bedroom window.

He probably saw you doing perverted things, while self abusing yourself.

that clearly is a red headed woodpecker. no wonder your 2nd class. not a downy

r48

Yeah don't you know a downy when you see it.

r45 im calling fowl on that pic, its funny thats the same pic on the international institute for higher research and learning's web page.

R50, I like your pun, but not your insinuation. Post the page you've cited, please. It's hard to believe a reputable organization (I assume it's reputable) would copy my pic from my Facebook page, especially since it's not the greatest picture.

R48, your reading comprehension skills get four stars (remembering OP signed-off as "ornithologist, 2nd class"! You get an "oh, dear", though, for the dreaded "your/you're" mix-up.

Ah-hem. Are you sure about the red headed woodpecker? I know [italic]you're[/italic] first-class and all, but the Google machine really pointed me towards the Downy.

Just today I had a male and female pair of cardinals and a Blue Jay come eat the cracked corn I put out for them. And I've seen Downy woodpeckers in the tree next to my house this past year. But mostly I get dark-eyed juncos and white-throated sparrows.

Pictures R53, or it didn't happen!

I've never had them eat the corn. Maybe they eat different things in winter?

[quote]Just today I had a male and female pair of cardinals and a Blue Jay come eat the cracked corn I put out for them.

Did Jimmy crack the corn? Because I actually DO care.

What? The op posted a picture of a Downey Woodpecker, anyone can see that.

I put out a bird feeder and when the birds come to feed, I shoot them with a pea shooter. The ones that live, are evolutionary superior and eventually, thanks to me, we'll have superbirds.

Yes, thank you, R58.

oh i typed in that page and ur pic popped up but had there name t the top i thought wow i blame iton this new ipad ..jealous

[quote]Blue jays are very smart, like crows. They are corvids. Corvids have a larger brain pan and that's why blue jays and crows have a higher mortality rate from West Nile encephalitis than other birds do.

Western scrub jays have the same qualities. However, I don't think they've been affected by the West Nile virus, though. Our local population of yellow-billed magpies has taken a significant/noticeable hit.

Owls are also very susceptible to West Nile.

Haha, r54! I just e-mail to friends; don't want to learn about Photobucket or Flickr or whatever!

That's amazing. I saw a dowdy woodpecker.

He was wearing a shawl and 70s acid washed feathers.

Awww, Woody, you say the darnedest things.

least he wasnt wearn a caftan or whatever that thing u say is. lol.

R20 - grackles do make a mess, but they spend so much time aerating my lawn as they look for grubs. My grass never looks better after they stop by for the summer.

Grackles are the K-Fed of black colored birds.

Dear R67,

Had a lovely time stopping by last fall on our way down to Florida. But you know us snowbirds, we'll be heading back your way in a couple months. Would love to stop by for some grub. It's just me and the wife and our relatives, maybe 30 or so of us. Hope to stop by for the summer.

The Grackles

Beneath it's snow and medals and gold rings

The cold mowed grass lies waiting for the leaves to bloom in spring

The snowbird sings the song he always sings

And speaks to me of flowers that will bloom again come spring.

Moo, R70. That was beautiful, and it brought out my inner cow. Moooo.

I occasionally get red-shafted northern flickers in the back yard. I think they're the only woodpeckers that forage on the ground. They leave walnut-sized holes in the yard. I've spotted a Nuttall's woodpecker a couple of times on a tree by my bedroom window.

I occasionally get shit-faced northern fuckers in the back yard. I think they're the only peckers that frottage on the ground. They leave walnut-sized holes in the yard. I've spotted a Nuttall's woodpecker a couple of times by my bedroom window. Oh, my!

Wonderful Owls.

Where I live, there was an escape of Rosy Faced Lovebirds years ago, and now they are everywhere. They are noisy little buggers, but cute!

The lovebirds are beautiful.

Nothing's gayer than a rose bush full of Rosy Faced Lovebirds.

Oh I don't know about that.

[quote] But you know us snowbirds, we'll be heading back your way in a couple of months

Couple of months?

Nuh-uh. They're basaaaaaack

About 500 at my feeder today

"The Grackles" are a good name for a TV or movie neighbor of the leading man & woman. I think it has to be a comedy, though.

Four early morning joggers have been attacked by a pesky and persistant owl in a Salem OR park, so, let's be careful out there.

Was he attack in Salem or in a Park?

It was in the downtown Salem iron ore park, smarty pants.

Owls eat mice not people.

You are all so gullible.

Gullible? Perhaps, R84, but I'm a good dancer and a good listener and have good penmanship.

Sparrows. I don't get interesting birds.

I forgot that I bought peanuts to attract blue jays and ate them myself.

Escaped ring-necked turtledoves and Nanjing lorikeets have really prospered here in the Tampa area.

Any photos, R87?

Ring-neck

Nanjing.

Very nice, thank you.

Here is today's morning visitor. Admire his serene beauty. He was just hanging out, soaking up some surprisingly strong sunshine.

Our bird feeder up in the woods north of NYC is a hubbub of birdcrazy these days with the zero-F temps. Nonstop activity, sunrise to sunset. Every bird from a quarter-mile radius that's willing to eat black-oil sunflower seeds, seems to have found it. We have seen two kinds of woodpeckers, the downy and red-bellied.

The fun part is that we know when the feeder hits empty, because a couple of the chickadees come to my partner's desk window and start tapping and chirping at him. Love the chickadees. There are YouTube videos showing people who have patiently tamed wild chickadees to eat out of their hands. I'd try it but it's too intensely cold out there to sit for an hour.

R92, we had mourning doves both in NYC and now here in Florida. Great way to wake up.

We also have ringed neck turtledoves here, and they have a great song too.

I bought live mealworms.

I tried to get the "wild" guinea fowl to eat the dried ones last year, but they weren't having it. I don't know if they're eating the live ones. I put them in the cu with the birdseed and throw them into the far reaches of the yard because the birds wont come near me.

If they don't eat them, I'm sure the 50-60 blue jays will. I have the world's healthiest blue jays thanks to the winter food I buy for the guineas.

Interesting! I thought I saw a chickadee the other day, but didn't know its name until I looked put up in response to R93's post. He was very cute. I don't recall seeing him before.

I'm getting peanuts delivered today. I'm going to put them out for the Blue Jays, unless I forget and eat them myself again. I bought the kind that are still in the shell. Does anyone know if that's ok, or do I have to break them out?

Chickadees like sunflower seeds, peanuts and safflower seeds.

"Mr. Fields", blue jays will not hesitate to rip off the shells to eat the peanuts. That goes double for squirrels. The downside is you'll have a mess left behind.

Oh, the mess, that is an issue. My feeder in on my fire escape, above my downstairs neighbor's yard. Luckily, there is a bush below the feeder so the inevitable droppings are camouflaged by foliage. I only put the feeder out in the winter when he's not out there, anyway. But peanut shells, that may be too much to ask of the guy's patience.

I accumulated a total of 2 chickadees and 2 morning doves all in a row this morning, when I inadvertantly scared them off trying to get a picture. Now I know how hard it must be to get your ducks in a row.

I find if I crack my window, I can get the starlings to all line-up on the sill facing in towards the house. I guess the warm air flows outward, and they must like that.

I got my jumbo bag of peanuts delivered and put a few out on the window sill this morning. It took the Blue Jays about an hour to notice them, but since then, it's like Grand Central Station for Blue Jays out there. Fortunately, they are picking up the peanuts and carrying them away, so it doesn't seem like I will have a shell problem. They are making quite a racket out there, too. I imagine they are saying "Peanuts! I've found peanuts!".

Blue Jay.

One-minute Blue Jay movie.

One minute Blue Jay movie.

The link previously posted is no good. This one should work

That was pretty mean.

Peanut theft. I like the way these Blue Jays jump of the ledge and allow themselves to freefall briefly before spreading their wings.

This morning's visitor. Is this a chickadee?

I only started getting a variety of birds since I started putting peanuts out. Now I'm getting blue jays, chickadees, doves, and I saw a cardinal yesterday. Although my downy woodpecker hasn't been around lately, I hope he's okay. He used to be a daily visitor.

Cardinal.

Seems like cardinals always come in pairs. Look around you'll find the female.

R30, there is nothing cuter than Marnie, but I want to punch her Mom in the vaginabone.

I am now getting what looks like a woodpecker visiting my garden, he pops in most mornings, has some red markings and looks just like a woodpecker, he pecks the trees a lot too. Doesnt hang around long, but must be the same one every day. He was on the bird feeder this morning.

Do birds stay in the same area? I am sure I get the same bluetits, pigeons, robins etc. every day. Thats here in suburban London.

Why don't you ever see some birds like an ostrich? Is that because you only want to live in white neighborhoods/

Yes birds will stay in the same area...unless they hear about a better feeder.

Many birds prefer thistle seed. In the spring you will get a better variety if you use thistle seed along with sunflower seeds. Sometimes a slice of orange will bring in an interesting bird.

Many birds prefer thistle.

Geez fag, can you possibly be less precise.

That's a useless bit of information. If you can't think of anything constructive to say, go back to your porn.

R106, that looks like a white breasted nuthatch. Can't see its front though.

Thank you, R114.

Birds? What a gay subject.

Why do birds sing homosexual?

And why are geeks intellectual?

Why do they fall in love.

You might as well ask: "Why dies it rain, far from up above"?

The bird in R106 is a white breasted nuthatch. They love suet, peanuts, peanut butter, sunflower seeds and safflower seeds.

Here is a redbreasted nuthatch. I see them at the beginning of winter, but they take off for parts unknown as winter progresses.

Both kinds of nuthatch like to creep up and down tree trunks and branches, sometimes upside down.

r118?

Why does the rain/Fall from up above.

Thank you, R120. My ears aren't what they used to be. I am this close to watching TV with closed captioning on |--|

I, too, find birdwatching a relaxing and pleasant diversion, but if I find myself bringing it up in conversation, it's a clear sign I need more going on in my life.

I'm learning a lot about birds from you people, thank you. I had no idea there was so much variety going on right outside my window.

Highweigh Buggery....

Moider in the first degree.

Oh, R124, you write the strangest things...

Spring comes sooner in the bird world than in the human world. I heard a male cardinal doing his mating call this morning when it was 15 degrees outside.

Keep a listen for this if you live in a northern cardinal zone

Downy was Woody Woodpecker's mongoloid cousin.

I had a blue Jay in my house earlier today. He was mad that I had temporarily run out of peanuts, so he flew around knocking things over. When he finally stopped, he was quite out of breath. He landed on my head for a brief moment. I hope he's ok.

r125

I love the highway buggery

Moider in the first degree song.

129

Everyone loves the highway buggery

Moider in the first degree song.

Thanks, R126! Heard him this morning!

I've heard of birds attacking each other at a winter birdfeeder...I guess they were fighting for their lives?

When my blue jay visitor alighted on the top of my window valance, I could see his breathing was labored. Probably from knocking things over and flapping and flouncing around while this big giant was running after him trying to open all the windows. On departure, he didn't so much as say "thank you" or "go to hell" or anything! Not very grateful not being baked in a pie.

Yes the cardinals have started singing here in Illinois. Something I always look forward to. Love their song and the different variations. The Carolina Wren is also singing loudly here, but they will sing year round so it doesn't mean anything.

I've only heard cardinals chirping, never singing.

I live in Chicago and have never seen a cardinal. They should've made the state bird one of those black/gray birds you see all over. What is that anyway? A starling or grackle or something?

A lot of states have cardinals as state birds because they are pretty.

Everyone who feeds birds want to have a pair feeding in their back yard.

They like bushes, so if you have a lot of messy bushes, you'll probably have a couple of cardinals.

Peck-bump-peck-bump.

My Woodpecker is outside every morning slowly pecking. Spring is close now!

r45, I've also had a hawk outside my window. I can't find the picture right now, but I woke up one morning, and there was one right outside my window, sitting on the roof gutter. It was beautiful to see up close, it was just a few feet away.

A few years ago, I was out for a run and happened across a hawk, sitting in the middle of someone's yard, tearing into the body of a rabbit. I stood quietly and watched it for a while (this was a very low-traffic side street). Suddenly one of the neighbors turned the corner and started driving up the street. The hawk hopped up, with the carcass hanging from its talons, and flew directly across the street in the path of the car, I'm talking low enough that he was right over their hood, and the rabbit meat was directly outside their windshield. They slammed on the brakes and looked terrified. I laughed and kept running. Nature!

We live in an historic neighborhood, which is very hilly, with small lots and a LOT of mature trees. It was part of the selling point for me (my husband grew to like it). We get all kinds of different birds, and I love watching them. One of my friends is a total "bird nerd" and I'll take a pic of an interesting bird in my yard and send it to him, and he'll reply, "Oooooh, what you've got there is a....." and he'll tell me all about it.

R127 lol

[quote] I have a parrot who watched calmly, with total fascination, while a Cooper's hawk pulled all the feathers off a junco he'd killed at the nearby feeder one winter. The parrot was perched right next to the window and the hawk was perched in a bush about 10 feet away. Well, parrots do enjoy tearing into a chicken drumstick, and they always crack it open for the marrow too. Maybe my parrot was envious of the hawk's catch!

No.

The parrot was keeping as still as possible so the hawk wouldn't notice it. It's a survival mechanism. Hawks are programmed to see bird movement rather than the bird itself. Whenever a hawk is nearby, any bird that was unable to fly away as soon as the hawk showed up will try to be completely still so the hawk won't see it.

We often attribute human emotions and behaviors to animals other than ourselves. I've been watching bird for many years and have read a lot about them, so I'm often surprised at how humans interpret bird behavior. One day, a friend and her kids came to visit and saw birds at my feeder. I've always though of her as a "Sesame Street" person. She was an urban kid who watched the show and absorbed it's "sunny day, sweeping the clouds away" message. She said, "Isn't that sweet? Look, kids. The big birds are feeding the smaller birds on the ground! That's the way we humans should be, too. We should look out for the smaller guys."

Actually, I'd put some mixed seed which contained peanut chips in the feeder. The blue jays had mobbed the feeder and were sweeping through the seed mix with their beaks, looking for the peanut chips. This caused non-peanuts seeds to spill on the ground, where smaller birds were scooping them up. There was nothing altruistic at all going on --- just birds taking advantage of a feeding opportunity. It surprised me that someone would see this as caring behavior by blue jays, who would have killed and eaten one of the smaller birds if it exhibited any sign of an injury.

[quote] a couple of the chickadees come to my partner's desk window and start tapping and chirping at him.

Chickadees are very resourceful. They are also easy to tame. You can get chickadees to eat out of your hand with patience (and warm weather).

One summer I noticed chickadees occasionally flying to a shingle on the side of my house. I realized there was a rhythm to it. I watched for a little while to see what was going on. It was a dry summer and my birdbath was easily emptied by big birds like robins jumping in and bathing, leaving little water to drink.

The connector to my garden hose was on the side of my house. There was a slow leak at the connection. A tiny amount of water would show, then it would get bigger and bigger and just before the water droplet was about to fall to the ground, a chickadee would land on the shingle, hold on with both feet, lean all the way over, head twisting backwards, and drink the water drop.

I let the connection stay loose and watched chickadees catch a cool drink all summer.

I lost my Carolina wrens over the winter. They die when there's a prolonged cold winter. Though I put out lots of peanuts and dried mealworms, they stopped calling two months ago and I don't hear any now that warm weather and spring birds are back. Hopefully a few will move up here in summer.

Jays are anything but sweet.

I once saw a hummingbird chasing a Jay, I knew the Jay deserved whatever he was in for.

Hummingbirds are incredibly aggressive and territorial about feeders. I have a feeder outside my bedroom window and they're hypervigilant about other hummers and chase them away. Beak to beak combat isn't unusual Check out the their fight over a feeder

I saw a rufous hummingbird do a mating display this weekend, it made a big series of U-shaped swoops and hovers. And I saw a male sitting and flaring his brilliant gorget, this was out in California where spring and summer are arriving rather early.

I've seen a Costa's hummer stick out the throat feathers, but I didn't realize the rufous could do that.

I've just started getting in to hummingbirds. Is it safe to hang feeders close to windows? I know the feeders need to be out of sight of each other. I would love to get a closer view but I'm worried about a poor hummingbird hitting a window. Thoughts. And how about attracting other birds to windows, is that dangerous for them?

I have a window feeder with a two-way mirror backing so the birds see themselves while feeding, rather than seeing inside the house. Sometimes they sit and stare at their reflection in between bites.

I use sunflower and safflower seed, and it draws cardinals. The window is a big 4x4 picture window facing the backyard. Squirrels get acrobatic trying to leap up onto it, or climb the glass, or jump from a tree branch more than a yard away. They're fun to watch, and only rarely make it on to the feeder.

This is the feeder I have, and it's worked really well for about three years now

Hummers are very territorial and very aggressive. You don't want the feeders near any other birds. They will spend more time fighting than eating.

Pretty feeder but doesn't the mirror get dirty.

Give those squirrels some food.

R20 helpful info on variety if seed etc

Love Blue Jays! They really aren't that aggressive. They just put on a show. The most aggressive yard birds, in my opinion, are grackles. The house sparrows don't seem to recognize them as a predator. I have seen them eating side by side on the ground and then suddenly the grackle will jump on the sparrow and peck it to death. I also saw a grackle chase a sparrow across a parking lot and to the ground. When I walked to my car later, I saw the headless sparrow laying there. Fortunately, they only seem to go after house sparrows.

R147, my feeder is on my fire escape, about three feet or less from my window, and I get no window-bird crashes. I don't get many hummingbirds, though, and they only have these very tiny bird brains, so maybe they're different, I can't say. My guess is that it's not a problem.

Surprisingly enough, r150, the mirror backing on that feeder doesn't really get any dirtier than the window itself. It just has to be wiped down every month or so with vinegar to stay clear.

And the squirrels eat well in our yard, for sure. The birds are messy feeders, so plenty of seed falls to the ground. Plus the squirrels will contort themselves comically to defeat squirrel-proofing on most feeders.

It's the grackles and starlings I wish I could be rid of. Right now a couple of grackles are feeding and seem to have scared away the sparrows, cardinal and chickadee that were out there a few minutes ago.

This whole project is fun but not inexpensive -- way more than tuppence a bag.

A good thing about grackles and RWBB is that they mob predator birds during mating and nesting season. Ravens, crows, hawks, owls. But once their second batch of fledglings leave the nest, they stop the mobbing behavior.

They're early nesters. They disperse around August.

The first few weeks of spring I hear the sound of grackles and RWBBs most prevalently. Can't wait til robins get here in large numbers and drown out the blackbirds with their song.

Saw a bazillion Canada geese flying overhead yesterday. We have both resident and migrating populations.

We aready have a lot of robins. They had a real successful nesting period in our neighborhood last year. I don't remember a year where I saw more juveniles. Sadly, there was a decrease in juvenile cardinals, probably due to the cowbirds. Cardinal nests seem to their favorite nest to use. Their eggs are very similar. Love birds and birding. Once you start observing their interesting behavior, getting a getting a good field guide and start identifying them, you really get hooked.

It's true, squirrels will do nearly anything to get at the food.

It was always a shame when the grackles visited the feeder, they pretty much drove all the other birds away. Fortunately, they never stayed long.

I'm no longer allowed to have any feeders, I miss the birds.

This is a thread about Downy Woodpeckers. Please refrain from discussing squirrels and other birds. If you wish to talk about them, start a new topic.

Thank You.

R157, what happened? Why no feeders allowed?

Surely that's something that can be appealed.

My local yellow-billed magpies are better than R158's black-billed magpies, if he has any magpies at all. Probably not, poor bitter soul that he is.

They're really common around here, I see them every time I go out.

r159

That is not about downy woodpeckers. Please stay on topic.

r160

Are magpie's downy woodpeckers? I think not. I'm not even sure a magpie is a bird and not some kind of English casserole. Please stay on topic.

R158, as the OP, I'm amending the subject to include all birds of a feather, whether they flock together or not. Feeders too. Can I do that? Well, I shall try.

r163

Please start a new thread then and don't co-opt this thread.

This thread is about downy woodpeckers and they deserve a thread and they deserve not to be disrespected by talking about other things.

Editor, please redtag r164 as the raptor co-opter of another bird's thread and remove this thread to freaks and flames.

Or feathers and flames, more aptly.

Many thanks, as always

Just start a new thread. This is reserved for the discussion of downy woodpeckers. Why are you making this so hard?

But what about the Grackles, R166? What about them? Huh?

I have to admit, yellow billed magpies are more attractive than black billed magpies.

r167

Agreed, Grackles deserve their own thread too. They are a much maligned and verbally abused bird. They are the K-Fed of birds.

r168

Black or yellow bills neither are downy woodpeckers. Once again, please stay on topic.

Fun Downy Woodpecker facts:

Adult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets.

The downy woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the much larger hairy woodpecker, but it can be distinguished from the hairy by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill.

Despite their close resemblance, downy and hairy woodpeckers are not very closely related, and they are likely to be separated in different genera.

Their breeding habitat is forested areas, mainly deciduous, across most of North America to Central America. They nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb.

These birds are mostly permanent residents. Northern birds may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations. Downy woodpeckers roost in tree cavities in the winter.

Why don't they fly south? Who wants to live in a cavity all winter?

Thanks for the one-minute blue jay film, that was great. I sometimes see bluebirds near my window, too.

I have never seen a cardinal!

Your welcome, R172.

R171, you're very sensitive, I can tell. That's a good thing.

They must be very brave birds, R171. I imagine those cavities get scary looking after dark, and it's dark a lot in Wintertime!

I am afraid that I may have given my Blue Jays peanut poisoning. I've used unsalted peanuts, but have been putting out quite a lot. It's like a major airport after I put them out, with landings and take offs every 15 seconds or so until the peanuts are all gone. Lately, though, they're not finishing them. It PP possible?

Or is it that the snow has melted and they are cheating on me with other food sources, like the cad in the "it's over, isn't it" thread? This concerns me.

(For the "stay on topic" troll: Would a Downy Woodpecker cheat like a Blue Jay"? It's always the pretty boys that stray. Discuss.)

If you want to talk about Blue Jays please start a thread about them or if you're straight, Toronto.

In the meantime, refrain from posting information about Blue Jays in a thread reserved for downy woodpeckers.

All these posts blathering on and on about "staying on topic" are horribly distracting. Please desist doing so, because it's interrupting my enjoyment of this bird-themed thread.

Surely there are several hundred other threads where no one seems able to stay on topic where you can get your titties in a twist?

Titmice:

They are neither mice nor do they have tits. Who do they think they are kidding?

Discuss!

[quote]Please desist doing so, because it's interrupting my enjoyment of this bird-themed thread.

This is NOT a bird themed thread. This is a thread about the downy woodpecker. If you wish to discuss birds in a thread about birds start a bird themed thread.

This is reserved for the discussion of downy woodpeckers and things RELATED to the downy woodpeckers. They are very interesting birds.

You should try to contribute to the topic.

Look at him, in the photo is adorable. Not like your blue jays. Take those blue crows to another thread.

Thank you.

More DW facts:

They forage not only on trunks and major limbs of trees but also on minor branches and twigs (often climbing about acrobatically and hanging upside down), as well as on shrubs and weed stalks.

They lay 3 to 6 eggs. Incubation is by both sexes, about 12 days. Young: Both parents bring billfuls of insects to feed the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 20-25 days after hatching, may follow parents around for a few weeks thereafter. 1 brood per year, possibly 2 in south.

Mostly insects. Feeds on a variety of insects, especially beetles and ants, also gall wasps, caterpillars, others. Also eats seeds and berries. Will eat suet at bird feeders.

See they are cute, and eat nasty bugs.

The Downy is prettier but I still prefer the Pileated Woodpecker.

r182

try again.

[quote](often climbing about acrobatically and hanging upside down),

If that was true, they'd get a headache.

Well why don't woodpeckers get headaches in general. Slamming their bills into trees all day can't make for a comforting experience.

Dammit, seems I can't link anything right, today.

Thats a very nice picture you linked, R180.

I used to go birdwatching in Central Park when I lived in the city. They have birdwatching walks, but I found the regular birdwatchers in the park to be......how you say?... a tad scary. A lot of autistics with very strict boundaries. And competition. I don't really care about your life list or your nemesis bird and whether or not I've seen more birds than you have. It's just a little hobby to me, it's not my whole life. (One guy had been captured by rebels not once, but three times in South America while birdwatching. That's a bit much)

I was on a bird walk once and this oddball Amazon woman sees us and comes over. "What's going on?" We tell her a park guide is taking us birdwatching. "What a wonderful idea," she says. "I don't know anything about birds. I'm joining you."

Two weeks later she's directing people with binoculars, telling them where they should go to see the best birds. A month later she's on tv schooling a reporter on hawks in Central Park. I would see her regularly arguing with people, binocs around her neck, as if she was Jane Hathaway with 40 years of ornithology training. She was kind of typical of the birdwatchers in the park. I mentally nicknamed her Miss Virginia Creeper.

It's really nice to go birdwatching in Central Park by yourself. Stay away from the regulars.

I'm not a serious birdwatcher but I'm really happy if I see a bird I've never seen before.

I don't live in a good place for birding.

We had a peewee on the wire today.

R188, I think of birdwatching as a form of relaxation therapy, almost a kind of meditation. I get out there in the woods and do my best to still my mind and open my senses to the natural world, and turn off the nattering of the everyday mind for a while. Because yes, in order to get the field marks on a tiny moving object in a forest, you need to concentrate! That's something I recommend to everyone, something that can be done at any local park that has trees.

Because yes, birdwatching crazy-lister style is, well, crazy.

What's a peewee? A Downey?

peewee >>

R193, he's so cute!

Here's my pal, the Downy Woodpecker. It's a better pic.

r186

No way, the Pileated Woodpecker is a nice looking bird, but he tries WAY too hard.

The downy woodpecker beats this hands down

The downy may be cute to look at, but you wouldn't be so crazy about him if he was destroying your house. They come and make huge gashes in my cedar siding, not to mention waking me up in the morning with all their tap-tap-tapping. I generally love birds, but I loathe those little bastards!

Normally, I like to avoid the brunch crow. But even so, here's one engaging in a very un-birdlike activity:

Bravo, R198!

I like the red bellied. They have the most personality.

R200, we have tons of them. They're loud and we love them

I was filling the bird feeder today and a northern mockingbird shit on my head. Those little bastards are diabolical.

Yes, R202, but now you have goid luck.

[You do realize that this is a troll, right? You might want to stop talking to it.]

R197, I bet if you put out a feeder with woodpecker food, you'd have fewer birds on your cedar shingles. I have no idea what the food would be, but there must be something.

If woodpeckers are going for your house it's because you have carpenter bees - they're trying to get at the larvae behind the siding.

Do woodpeckers eat anything that's not an insect or worm?

Woodpeckers eat wood obviously.

They eat other things like bugs and tree sap.

The ivory billed woodpecker ate ivory till elephants became rare, then it went extinct as do most birds with specialized diets.

The person possibly has termites and that's why the woodpeckers are attacking it...after the termites.

The downy woodpeckers, flickers and red headed woodpeckers eat the sunflower chips from my feeders every day. They do not eat wood, they eat the bugs in wood.

Woodpecker facts

Somewhere I have a picture of a Gila Woodpecker hanging onto a hummingbird feeder, and trying to stick its big old beak into the nectar spout. I took it on a trip to Arizona.

So yes, woodpeckers will eat stuff other than insects.

Woodpeckers don't eat wood. They drill in it to get bugs or to excavate a nest hole. They primarily eat bugs, though they will eat nectar, sap and seeds. They are attracted to peanut feeders.

They will come to feeders with almost any kind of suet cake, but especially love the ones with nuts and insects (yes you can buy buggy suet).

They also come to the peanut feeder with squirrel-resistant springloading that I have hanging off the edge of my deck. I try to adjust it so that bigger woodpeckers and blue jays can eat, while squirrels and the fucking grackle bird-pigs get shut down.

Saw a flicker on the suet yesterday--bigger and with different coloring from most of your black&white woodpeckers, but related.

I have fallen in love with my blue jays. Unfortunately, my air conditioner goes in the window where my Winter feeder and peanuts have gone over the Winter. I can't easily see them if I feed them out the other windows. So, I guess that will be it when my bag of peanuts is gone. *sad face*

[quote]Woodpeckers don't eat wood. They drill in it to get bugs or to excavate a nest hole. They primarily eat bugs, though they will eat nectar, sap and seeds.

oh you and your imagination

No evidence of a "lady friend" OP?

HE'S GAY!

No lady friend. He might be Gay. I did read that they feed separately, so maybe not.

There was a bold cardinal on a sidewalk near my house today. He was just standing there and didn't flinch or move a muscle although I came within 2 feet of him.

That is not a Nanjing lorikeet R[87] hon, it's something related to a ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) from Africa and southern Asia.

Hey, if the grammar trolls can post here, why not the exotic bird troll?

Wow! My pecker at R1 has 580 views since January! I'm surprised!

Oops, forgot to sign R221

Thanks, R20. They are beautiful but don't look like what we have here in the Dunedin, FL area.

Saw a Pileated woodpecker and a Swallow Tail Kite this week...and the Purple Martins are back!

Also oops ^

Aww, I was just in Dunedin and I missed them.

Oh for God's sake, my keyboard is going...R220.

OK, I worked at Digital Equipment Corp. in Nashua N.H. many years ago.

They had a glass catwalks between buildings on their campus, and one time there was a Pileated exploring and hammering on the scrub oaks right beside the glass, less than 10 feet from my face. I'm sure it could not see me.

I watched for as long as I could avoid going back to my cubicle.

I saw an indigo bunting in my pear tree today. First time I ever saw one. It looked like a goldfinch that was blue where the gold should be

R228, that's beautiful!

And I saw a goldfinch in my yard for the first time, r228!

To see a bunting like that would have made my day.

Cross post, but he's so cute I couldn't resist. He's a penguin from the London Zoo.

Goldfinches like thistle. I used to hang a thistle sock from the lowest branch of my pear tree and get lots of goldfinches. But that branch got damaged in Hurricane Irene and tree "pruners" (aka tree killers) cut off that branch and all the other lower hanging branches, so now I can't reach high enough to hang a sock on the lowest branch.

thistle sock

R233, it's called arborcide. Not actually a word, but it will be when I'm done with it.

Thanks, r233! I'm definitely getting a thistle sock soon!

If you want a goldfinch feeder, the best kind to get is the upside-down variety. The reason for this is that goldfinches are the only ones who feed upside down and you won't waste expensive thistle seed on the more undesirable birds who will crowd the feeder and drain it down before the goldies even get there.

Thistle mildews easily. The sock aerates the seed so it doesn't get a load of mildew at the bottom.

Re: R238 -- I've been doing this for over two decades and never once had that problem. That being said, the difference may be that I keep my feeders either under an overhang or with one of those squirrel-proof dome contraptions overhead, which have the added benefit of providing an umbrella-like enclosure to keep the feeders (and their occupants) dry.

I have used socks as suggested by someone else...they worked pretty well.

I'm just now wondering if I could do that where I live now, I'm not suppose to have any feeders but maybe they wouldn't notice a sock?

Stop talking about finches and shitty birds. This is for downy woodpeckers and possibly other woodpeckers.

Please start a new on topic thread for other bird life

Thank you.

The purple martins have returned to Dunedin, FL.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmathew1/4771826150/sizes/l

Duh. I now better.

Agreed, no shitty birds, please!

This little guy built a nest on my window sill. I don't think he liked my window shade being opened in the daytime, so he quickly flew the coop!

Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away!

Anyone ever seen an elegant trogon? I'm going on an Arizona birding trip, hope to see one of these big fuckers!

And some hummingbirds. And a pyrrhuloxia, that would be cool.

He's beautiful. He looks like the Italian flag! If I owned one of these birds, I'd name him "El Duce!"

[quote]This little guy built a nest on my window sill. I don't think he liked my window shade being opened in the daytime, so he quickly flew the coop!

Either that, or he's become hawk food. Because of their large body size, coupled with being rather slow and stupid, mourning doves are the prime entree at the hungry hawk buffet.

R249, you rang?

[quote] Is he (my downy woodpecker) homosexual?

Let's just say he's a few feathers short of a pillow.

That hawk in R250 woke me one morning with this God-awful screeching outside my bedroom window. It was a sound that I've never heard before (likewise, mouse squeaks and lion roars are nothing like you hear on TV). It was right about the time that my dove went missing. I had thought that I scared the dove away, but it might have been lunch for the hawk. This is doubly strange since I live in the middle of a city and don't see wild life often.

DL Ornithologists, what can I use to attract Cardinals, besides alter boys? I only get Cardinals by mistake, I think, they are so rare here. TIA!

Attached is a photo of Dizzy Dean. I don't think he is a "shitty bird", so allowed within the DL rules.

No one cares about no, shitty ass pigeon. They should go the way of the dodo or passenger pigeon.

This thread is for downy woodpeckers and other woodpeckers as they relate to downy woodpeckers.

[quote] DL Ornithologists, what can I use to attract Cardinals, besides alter boys?

Peanut chips, safflower seeds and sunflower seeds, in that order. Cardinals don't like no cheap shit. And they like to nest in hedges and high bushes.

Remember, no human food like salted peanuts.

Thanks, R255! I will look for them.

R253 -I use safflower seeds to attract cardinals. While it's true that they also like peanuts and sunflower seeds, so do sparrows and squirrels. In my experience cardinals can get intimidated by aggressive critters. Also, cardinals are ground feeders, not clingers. They'll eat from a feeder with a platform or ring they can comfortably perch on. I have two hanging round feeders with "cardinal rings" that keep mine happy. I had 6-7 regulars this winter, now down to one couple with occasional visitors. Love 'em.

Dirty disgusting filthy lice-ridden boirds

A black-throated magpie-jay takes a dump on R254.

Yeah cardinals really like thick bushes (no comment) and I don't know where my pair is. I hope the hawks didn't get them.

Since it was mentioned...ta-da! A Passenger Pigeon! My friend in San Francisco had one. This photo is from 1989, though I suppose it's timeless! He, incidentially, acted in "The Other Side of Aspen" and had a line of dialog if I recall correctly. I hope he's doing well, I haven't seen him since then.

Stop it, this thread is about downy woodpeckers. Please take your passenger pigeon loving ass to its own thread.

Thank you.

My next door neighbor rented her house out for years. A professional lanscaper lived there for a while, planted some gardens with lots of perennials and bushes. Then he moved out and the woman who moved in let everything go to hell....which was actually great for the birds. For years, the overgrown bushes and bracken have hosted bird nests, protected roosting spots and covered rabbit holes.

New people bought the place and sent out guys with buzz saws today. A lot of homeless birds are out there now. I think the neighborhood will loose a lot of color because of it. Lots of blue jays and cardinals were in those bushes.

R262, I love you, though I think you're being silly, I love how you express yourself!

How does this have anything to do with downy woodpeckers.

Mary! R262. But I'll oblige: I was worried because I hadn't seen the downy couple that's frequented my suet feeder in about a week. But they not only appeared this morning, they showed up together, a rarity. I'm thinking there will be baby downies in the near future.

R263, that's a God damn shame. I cultivated my Gram's yard for ~25 years and after she died, someone hired an arborcidest to come in with a buzz saw and just hack away, knowing nothing about what bloomed when. I was appalled for many reasons.

R266, your peckers show up together?! Mine is ALWAYS single. True for at least 7 years. He must be a confirmed bachelor.

R262, you're the one who mentioned the Passinger Pigeon.

My male hummingbird was back by 5/4 and the male northern Oriole was back in my blooming pear tree yesterday.

Only one white-throated sparrow was left in my yard yesterday. All the juncos have been gone for amost two weeks.

Oh, I hear a second male oriole in the tree. One year I took pictures of 5 different male and female Orioles in the tree all at the same time. Oh well, they'll be gone by the end of the week when the blooms fall off the tree.

I saw the Elegant Trogon today, something I've been hoping to do for years... and it was the most beautiful wild creature I've ever seen in my life! Pictures don't do it justice, the blue-green and green of its back and tail are as iridescent as a hummingbird's throat, and the red and white of its breast are ridiculously bright in the forest.

I love birding, you can not only make a connection with beautiful wild things (I spent half an hour hanging out with Mr. Trogon), but when you pull off something like this you feel so fucking cool! A long journey, a lot of research, a stiff hike, and I met the bird and did not frighten it away.

Beautiful!

[quote]I saw the Elegant Trogon

And this is a form of a downy woodpecker? If not please do not clutter this nice thread about downy woodpecks with non-woodpecker related items.

Thank you.

I just had a rose-breasted grosbeak at the dish on my balcony, along with the usual cardinals and goldfinches!

I may swing by Swan Point this afternoon and see if the warblers are out and about.

Beautiful, R274!

This is interesting though a tad long. Other animals recognize the distress messages of birds.

My hummingbirds are gone. I guess the ones I saw 2 weeks ago were migrants passing through.

Some of you get to see beautiful birds...I have to be satisfied with doves, woodpeckers and Jays.

I did see a mother raccoon and her babies today.

I saw a pileated woodpecker strutting around the lawn at my friend's northwoods cabin.

What a striking bird.

I have two that seem to hang around here in the winter, they can be really loud when they call to each other.

While watching a brown thrasher yesterday a downy woodpecker landed on the tree no more than a few feet away from me. So I got to watch them both.

More Pileated Woodpecker. What a nice bird!

The flock of wild turkeys that hangs around my neighborhood has chicks!

The chicks are fledging, but still look tiny compared to the big turkey hens that were looking after them.

Are they tasty, R284?

Our ospreys are getting ready for their first flight.

When I came home from shopping this evening, all four neighborhood guinea fowl came running to meet my car, all excited. I'd run out of bird seed and they knew I was bringing home more. It's kind of weird having these big goofy birds running to meet the car, acting like Pavlov dogs. And they know my car. They never run to my husband's car and they have run over from a neighbor's house when they see it.

They are getting old. They used to roam the neighborhood, but they rarely leave my front yard nowadays. Some new people have bought houses and torn down lots of greenery where they used to forage and hide from hawks.

My cardinals do the same thing, R287. As soon as I pull up into the driveway, they dart out to the back deck where I keep a dish filled with sunflower seeds hidden just for them. I hide it behind a planter and cover it with an inverted flowerpot when I'm gone so that squirrels and other riff raff don't get into it.

My blue jays do the same when I come to the window with peanuts.

The birds were hysterical outside a few minutes ago. Mostly grackles so I figured the sharp shinned or Cooper's hawk was out there. I walked into the yard and shooed a hawk away.. it had caught something in the tree, but I wasn't sure if it was an adult bird or a fledgling, as we have tons of fledglings this week. When it flew away and landed on another tree. I was shocked to see a redtail. It must have been a female juvey. I don't like having redtails around as I have guinea fowl.

[quote] My blue jays do the same when I come to the window with peanuts.

One of my blue jays has figured out that I will only put out seed and nuts if the guinea fowl are in the yard. He sits in my tree waiting. When I go out and call the guineas, he imitates the clucking sounds they make so I will put out the food. Smart bird.

A very loud mockingbird is out at night and keeps me awake if I don't turn on two fans.

All of my grackles and robins are gone. There are still a few r g blackbirds left, but they don't call/sing. It's mostly blue jays, house sparrows, cowbirds and cardinals now. I guess that means it's late summer and most of the nesting/fledging is done. There will be lots of grackles and RWBBs in fall during migration.

Bird-nerd bump!

I just spotted a couple of Catbirds in the bushes, which is a little unusual. It's also nearing the time when my cardinal pair brings their new kid around to introduce him to me, Rafiki-style. Yeah, OK, that's anthropomorphizing....they're showing him where the special seed dish is. :)

Catbirds are teaching the young how to forage at this time of the year. Every year I wonder when I'll finally hear the catbirds calling. It's usually mid to late August.

The best is listening to young catbirds learn what they can do with their voices. They will sit in a tree or a bush and you hear them quietly making all kinds of melodious calls, squirt sounds, chatter and what sounds like casual conversation

Juvenile blue jays do this too, but they don't have as varied a repertoire as catbirds do. Some years I get young jays who become obsessed with certain calls. One year, it will be a jay making hawk sounds, just to watch the other birds scatter.

One year it was a jay that sounded like some kind of dinosaur, making a scary trumpeting sound. Now I have a jay who imitates guinea fowl. He knows I only throw seeds in the yard when the guinea fowl are here,, so he tries to fake me out. It worked a few times when I heard him and threw out seed, expecting the big birds to come out from behind the hedges, then wondered where they went to so fast. I finally caught on.

Goldfinches should become more visible as black eyed Susan, sunflower, coneflower and cosmos start going to seed. I have one hummingbird fighting off the poor lesser hummingbirds trying to get at my feeder. He has the whole yard scoped out, so he can see every hummy who encroaches into his territory.

Saw my first swarm of dragonflies yesterday. They'll eat my bees, but the swallows will eat the dragonflies. They're very plump this year.

Cansda geese are returning. Most robins are gone. The cgrackles and RWBBs are in the cornfields now. They'll be back in the front yard when they've gleaned as much corn as they can.

what a foolhardy thing to say r66. she makes movies that transends the depth of time. years from now people will watch her movies and say how they love her. she is the joan crawfordvand betty davis of the twenth century. she may not be able to get people to watch every movie, butweknow that she can carry every movie, like samwiese gangie carried frodo to mount doom.

R295 must be talking about The Birds, Birdy, Bye-bye Birdy, Birdman or The Birdman of Alcatraz.

[quote]Goldfinches should become more visible as black eyed Susan, sunflower, coneflower and cosmos start going to seed.

I can verify this. I've been noticing a HUGE uptick in goldfinch activity. I've always had them, but lately I can barely keep their feeder stocked--they are like little pigs on wings!

I've been feeding goldfinches too with nettle and they are big eaters. Note that goldfinches prefer thistle and milk weed, so I planted some thistle too but they've already finished those off.

Goldfinches are late season nesters due to their preference for seeds that appear in late summer/early fall

The bird world quiets down by late summer - but not the American goldfinch, one of the most common backyard birds. September brings the chatter of young goldfinches as they follow their male parent. They beg noisily, perched with head thrown back and trembling wings.

Most songbirds switch their diet to high-protein insects when feeding their young, and they nest earlier when insects are most bountiful. For example, chickadees that keep bird-feeders busy in winter disappear in summer as they forage for insects not birdseed.

Goldfinches never make the switch. They're year-round seed and grain eaters, and delay nesting to ensure seed availability. In fact, the appearance of seed-rich composite flowers very likely stimulates nesting, along with the shifting day length of late summer.

Goldfinches appear to be especially linked with thistles. They often line their nests with soft thistle down, and feed on thistle seeds. As for young goldfinches noisily following their male parent, the female does the nest-building, egg-brooding and tends the nestling for a week or so, but then she's done. The male takes over. Some females that nest early enough find another mate and produce another brood.

All too soon, goldfinches, too, will quiet down, in sound and in looks. Feather molt follows breeding, and the male's bright yellow summer plumage soon will be replaced by feathers that match the muted palette of winter"

im fairly certain that pic is a red headed woodpecker not a downy. dumbfuck

I'm more than certain you're a troll

The cardinals are back. They appear sporadically in my front yard in spring and summer, but take up daily residence in fall/winter.

Also, house sparrows are flocking to my holly hedges, more summer-is-over behavior.

The air the past two days has been thick with dragonflies and other bugs, just in time for swallows to swoop and scoop them, tanking up for migration.

Crickets in the daytime. Bees slowing down. The other day I was thinking a storm was coming because the sky was getting so dark and then I remembered --- it's time for it to get dark earlier. It was no storm, just dusk showing up.

Instead of a dawn chorus of all kinds of birds, I wake up to testy blue jay squawks. The sound of winter coming.

As of yesterday I still had at least one hummingbird. Not sure if it is a late nestling from around her or a bird from further north stopping off at the nectar station. Not even sure if it's more than one hummingbird. Funny how it goes from the frenzy of filling the bottle twice a day to having it sit around for a few days as the regular guys have flown off for winter.

I like the way you write, R303, it's very evocative. If it's not being too nosy, I'm curious as to what part of the country are you in?

i know birds and thats a red headed woodpecker not a downy. thanks

I'm in the Hamptons, R305. But I'm not rich. I live in one of the few middle class neighborhoods left. I have 3/4 acre and have planted for birds, bees and butterflies. Only three years ago, I took a video of one of my butterfly bushes swarming with monarchs. I used to lie on my back in the pool and watch the Monarchs fly overhead from one butterfly bush in front of the pool to the bush I'd planted at the end of the pool. It was amazing.

Last year I saw one monarch. This year I saw two. Weeks apart. I suppose it's a 100% increase, but it's still so sad. The building here is out of control. We had a huge field that was full of milkweeds. Alan Alda bought it and built huge McMegaMansions on them. The milkweeds were replaced with sod. I wish I could plant a milkweed garden, but my days of digging new gardens are over. My current garden beds have butterfly bushes, agastache, salvia, coneflowers, black eyed Susans, cosmos, foxgloves, sedums..

r307 good to know you still can brag, namedropper, swimming pool, 3/4 acre in hamptons. you disgust me bragging troll

You're judging, R308. Must you, really? I don't think there's anything wrong with what R307 wrote. That's his truth, and you just read like "sour grapes".

I had a cardinal come by this morning. Chirp chirp. Now I know how to recognize their sound. Q

He came back! Here he is! He must like peanuts, too.

Does anyone want to name him?

He looks like a Chauncey to me.

Coincidentally, I had a downy at my cardinal dish today!

Chickadees are in my front yard. As Ned Stark would say, "Winter is coming."

Chickadees spend spring and summer in the woods eating bugs. They move towards houses and bird feeders as the days shorten and there are fewer bugs on trees to pick off.

Haven't seen any hummingbirds for 3 days, but I put out nectar anyway. Still have dragonflies and tree swallows.

Chauncey is back. I hear his chirp right now.

They have me well trained. They sit outside and chirp away, knowing that if they make enough noise, I'll drop some peanuts on the windowsill.

Chilly today. I'll get one more set of blooms from the butterfly bush, then it will go kaput until next July. Just a few cabbage whites now. In summer, the butterfly bush was filled with little song sparrows snap out g up the bugs. But I guess the bugs are dying off, because I haven't seen any song sparrows for a hike. I saw a very sluggish carpenter bee, and two bumble bees, but the little Mason bees, honeybees and sweat bees are gone.

3,000 miles from home, and I saw a Downy Woodpecker today!

They're taking over the world, R317!

It was actually the Downy that saw YOU, R317. Because of this thread, you've been thoroughly vetted and accepted into the fold.

Sigh. It's a dog eat dog world, even in bird land. A big, red-bellied woodpecker just came and raided the stash of sunflower seeds that my nuthatch has been meticulously secreting away in the cracks between the boards of the porch. Poor little guy.

[quote]Chickadees are in my front yard

Please refrain from talking about chickadees in this thread. This thread is about downy woodpeckers. Please start a new thread if you wish to discuss other forms of birds and/or wildlife.

Your cooperation in this matter is much appreciated

R321, while I admire your persistence and single mindedness, I had wondered where you have been.

Also, how come I don't see posts like this by you in other threads? People are off topic all the time. Why are you policing only this one thread?

Anyone a fan of Hairy Woodpeckers? They look like Downy Woodpeckers but are almost twice as big. I hope someday to attract one to my yard.

[quote]Anyone a fan of Hairy Woodpeckers?

Never heard of them. But they are much prettier than a downy woodpecker. See I am comparing the two so it post is on topic.

From Wikipedia:

[quote]With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals

Hairy woodpeckers are just everywhere. There are more of them than NY'ers

There are about 14 million downy woodpeckers world wide.

R325, the loss of one downy woodpecker is a tragedy; a million is a statistic.

#DownyLivesMatter

Je suis Downy.

Oh, Robert!

I live in a high-rise and feeding birds leads to a major problem with bird waste. I wish this wasn't so, I'd have several bird feeders out all year long. We have huge flocks of parrots here in Long Beach, CA. They are the most wonderful birds and in the evening the palm trees they call home are awash with with their chatter. I've left containers of feed at the base of their tree/roots but none seem so have ever eaten any of the sunflower seeds that I have left. The cutest pigeons nested on my patio and had a little one. The mess they left behind required steam cleaning.

As I was refilling my bird feeder this morning, I noticed a new addition to the backyard wildlife menagerie- a woodchuck. Are they a thing now? I've been hearing a lot of people mentioning having them lately. Could the birdseed be an attraction for them? I hope not. I've already pared back my feeding activities to a bare minimum so as not to attract undesirables.

Dear r-331 & r-330 please refrain from posting off topic material in a thread dedicated to Downy Woodpeckers. Although I understand your distressing situations, you'd be better helped by starting a thread that is relevant to you problem.

Thank you for you cooperation.

Fuck Woodpeckers. Fuck them right in the arse.

Woodpeckers drill holes on my siding. Patching them up is very costly because part of my house is over a hill and a lot of the damaged areas are all the way up over 3 stories high. i wish there's a way to keep them away from my house. I have no interest in sharing my house with someone who doesn't pay rent and is also very high maintenance.

I have some crows that I feed each winter when it gets cold and it's funny how they'll remember which door to come to as soon as it snows, although it doesn't do so often in my area. I had long suspected that they sat at the end of the road and waited for my van to get off night shift. I would see them in the trees and then they'd fly towards the house. It was like they were watching.

[quote]Dear r-331 & r-330 please refrain from posting off topic material in a thread dedicated to Downy Woodpeckers. Although I understand your distressing situations, you'd be better helped by starting a thread that is relevant to you problem.

Au contraire, my dear R332. As the aforementioned situation directly affects little Mr. Downy's special source of snacks, it is of prime relevance here!

I've been putting peanuts out every morning since Winter. If I'm late, the Blue Jays start making a racket. They have me well trained. Lately, they've been a little scarce, though. Now I'm getting a cardinal coming daily for the peanuts, too. I like him because he has a demure little chirp. I hope these guys can't overdose on peanuts.

I have not seen my downy woodpecker since Winter, but that's typical. I only see him when I start putting suet-seeds out, starting Novemberish.

[quote]Now I'm getting a cardinal coming daily for the peanuts, too. I like him because he has a demure little chirp. I hope these guys can't overdose on peanuts.

Just make sure they are unsalted peanuts, then it should be OK. If Chauncey decides to adopt you, you will be in for a treat. Before long, he will bring his special lady around, which, in turn usually leads to the appearance of a little one at the end of each summer. Their favorite time to drop by is usually around dawn and dusk each day. In winter time you will see them much more frequently, as their other food options dwindle away.

I heard a flicker in my tree today. I couldn't see him because the tree is still leafed, but I'm sure I'll see him in winter. I also get at least one red bellied in winter, too

The mourning doves have taken over -- another sign that winter is coming.

I had 4 viceroy butterflies in my butterfly bushes today. That's the most butterflies I've seen at one time all year long. The bushes used to be filled with butterflies starting in late summer

Chauncey is looking fierce this morning in this undercover surveillance picture as he goes in for a 7 am peanut.

[quote] Woodpeckers drill holes on my siding

Plant some trees with trunks that woodpeckers can run up and peck. Ornamental tiny dwarf trees don't count. Arborvitae don't count

Birds are territorial. If a woodpecker winds up in your territory after all the birds duke it out among each other, he's gotta look for food wherever he can find it. Also, some woodpeckers aren't looking for food when they drill. They're looking for a mate. Male woodpeckers drum on whatever hard surface they can find to attract a mate.

r341 needs a good slap, Those of us who contend with woodpeckers regularly know the impossibility of dealing with these buggers. And please no suggestions for trashy Hardie Board.

You know, I've never read or opened the downy woodpecker thread, so figured let's see what it's about.

Ornithology.

Since this thread initially seemed to gain traction, I've always assumed that it had morphed into some other ongoing meme.

Birding is the new brunching.

There, a meme is born.

R343, are you writing that you don't think birding is worth 350 replies over 7 months?

The r ged blackbirds are back in my yard. They disappeared around August. That's when they head to the seashore, or rivers, creeks, lakes, etc. Lots of them migrate, but others stay because they know the late corn is coming in now. My town is a tourist attraction this time of year for "pumpkin season" and all the fake pumpkin farms have corn mazes, so the blackbirds will feast on corn. When crows come into the cornfields, they chase away the RWBBs, so the RWBBs come hang at my house for some seed.

This thread is for death by a downy woodpecker or other woodpecker only. For death by any other fowl, please create a new thread related to that sad but all too common event. Thank you for your cooperation.

For R347

I heard the first white throated sparrow of the winter 2015-2016 today.

Haven't seen any juncos yet.

Ugh, I always dread the return of the juncos. They're cute, but the winter they bring, not so much.

Fuck you, Anne Murray!

Thank you, R348!

I ran out of peanuts for two days and I head Chauncey about there asking "Where are my peanuts?...Where are my peanuts?..." Blue Jays also but they were less polite about it, natch. They have me well trained. They know if they make a ruckus, peanuts will magically appear. I got a bag tonight so they'll be happy tomorrow.

I saw a slate colored junco yesterday morning at my front porch and guess what? On my way back from a christening, it snowed. OK, it was only a snow shower, but still....the first junco = the first snow. Little bastards.

Bloodbath! My Blue Jays ganged-up on Chauncey this morning over a disputed peanut. It was three on one. Perhaps that should be called a birdbath?

Chauncey just hangs out there all majestic and fierce looking, chirping-away until he gets his peanut. He's become my biggest fan. I wonder if he'll stay the Winter?

Gang colors fly as the blues amass against the reds.

Nice pic! My jays feed pretty much the same way the nuthatches do, which is to take one piece and go, back and forth several times, and this seems to minimize any conflicts. I know the nuthatches do it this way because they are creating stockpiles for the winter, not sure why the jays do it.

Chauncy is not a Downy Woodpecker. Please start a relevant thread for him, it is off topic otherwise.

Thanks

[quote] Chauncey just hangs out there all majestic and fierce looking, chirping-away until he gets his peanut. He's become my biggest fan. I wonder if he'll stay the Winter?

Cardinals do not migrate. In fact, they move closer to houses with bird feeders in winter. My front yard is filled with blue jays and cardinals in winter. In winter, male cardinals don't bother each other. In spring, the males become territorial and leave to stake out their territory and mate with females. The males help with feeding nestlings. So you'll always have cardinals in winter if you feed birds, but in spring and summer,, they are mostly out reproducing.

It sounds like spring outside. Tons of robins all of a sudden. Now, I know we have non-migratory robins who flock together in winter but I wondered why we suddenly had tons of robins singing and chasing each other. Aha. The neighbor's cedar tree has produced ripe juniper berries and robins love them. They also get a little drunk from them. Oh well, l will enjoy the sounds of spring while I can

I love you, R357!

Don't encourage him, R360. Repetition does not make a statement funny, even if some idiots think it does.

Rare intersexed cardinal, red on one side and light gray on the other:

ARGHHHH! I just saw the first junco and, wouldn't you know it, we're also having our first snow.

Damn you, little tuxedo-clad menaces! Put on some flannel and go back to Canada!

I just took my air conditioner in. It allow me to put out my bird feeder on the fire escape. My downy woodpecker showed up immediately. I don't know what he does in the Sunmer when the A/C is in the window and the bird feeder is not out. Anyway, he might be the most consistent thing I have going these days.

I hope he gets along with Chauncey.

R363, I condole you on your excess of Juncos.

I've got a little hawk causing me such a pain. It's a juvey for sure, but I can't tell if it's a sharpie or a Coopers. He's very nervous and jittery and keeps flying into my hedges scaring the crap out of the billions of sparrows who live in them. The sparrows start squawking and screaming, then the guinea hens go nuts and start bawking. What a racket, all day long.

Friggin little pain in the ass

R365, how funny! It reads like the plot of a Warner Brothers animated short. Foghorn Leghorn would play OP. Tweety Bird would play the sparrows. I don't know who would get the hawk role.

Whenever I get a hawk in the area, I suspend feeding for a while. When the constant activity around the feeder dissipates, the hawk gets bored and moves on. One of the most unfortunate aspects of having a bird feeder is that they can also attract the unwanted attention of predators on the lookout for some easy pickings.

Wile E. Coyote would play the hawk, of course!

I think Warner Bros. had a matronly voiced actress play the old grandmother hen with spectacles, IIRC. I don't know if they still have her under contract, but she could play the Guinea hens. I think that's everybody. ITS A WRAP!

I'm really sad. My downstairs neighbor complained about my bird feeder. It's been hanging on the fire escape for years, but he asked me to remove it because he says it creates a mess on the first floor below it. I don't know why it was never a problem before. Very disappointing.

I removed the feeder. I don't want to create a mess for him, and I have bigger fish to fry. I mean, there are other issues I'd rather stand my ground on, should they arise. Condo living does require compromise, sometime.

I'm also concerned that my Downy woodpecker might starve. I was slow in filling the feeder that had emptied a while back, and he started pounding-away on the wooden window frame, where there are no grubs for him.

Well, I don't know what to do. I could put the feeder on the roof, but I'll never see the birds there.

I may have a solution for you, OP. You know those umbrella-like things that people usually put over the top of the bird feeder to keep the squirrels off of them? They can also be rigged to go underneath the feeder to act as a sort of scatter-catcher. You may also be able to fashion something yourself, perhaps using a garbage can lid or something similar. The downside of all this is that you will probably have to clean out the messy tray fairly frequently, but it might be a way to keep everybody happy.

Thank you, Claude.

I think my neighbor is over reacting. I didn't see any debris on the ground under the feeder, and the feeder has been there for years; therefore, I am afraid that any feeder will piss him off, even if it leaves no debris. As a result, I will go without.

There are other complaints I would ignore, but this one, if there really was debris, I would accept. I can put food on my roof deck, though I will not be able to see my birds there.

It is really distressing, I have grown to like my birds.

[quote]I'm also concerned that my Downy woodpecker might starve. I was slow in filling the feeder that had emptied a while back, and he started pounding-away on the wooden window frame, where there are no grubs for him.

Birds do not starve when humans feed them and stop. They are not stupid, that's a total myth. Birds have been finding food for thousands of years and even in nature, they find natural spots full of food, then they deplete the source, then move on.

Thanks, R373, that's good to know.

Personally, I would check the homeowner's bylaws to see if there is any specific language prohibiting the use of a bird feeder. I would also factor in what the relationship with the neighbor was like. Has he done any favors for you, or honored any special requests that you may have had? If you asked him to turn down his music, for example, would he graciously comply, or scoff and tell you to buzz off? If not, I would take it all with a large grain of salt and simply tell him that you will do your best to manage the situation and continue to go about your business as usual. I've lived in a townhome complex before, even served on the board, so I'm all too familiar with the kind of complaint situations that can arise. I also eventually learned that a lot of people are just blowhards who like to whine and throw their weight around with a lot of really frivolous demands. If it's not against the rules, against the law, and does no harm to anyone else, they simply have no right to restrict your enjoyment of your own home and property.

r375

When you live in a condo, close to others, it's not worth the hassle. Even if you're "right" you can bring on a whole set of problems. Does the poster really want to spend the next 10 years answering complaint after complaint just to feed some birds?

Thanks, R375. If the feeder was really resulting in feed and bird poop falling in #1's yard, I would respect his complaint. It seems reasonable to me, despite it not being what I want. Otherwise, how would he have even noticed?

The very first day I met him, he said something that convinced me that he would be difficult, but generally, for the last many years, we have gotten on fine, and that is worth something.

I don't feel completely anonymous enough to be free to write too much on this; however, I will write that there are other matters that are more important to me than this one, and I'd put my foot down about those.

What kind of feeder to you have? I get lots of downy and hairy woodpeckers at my suet feeder (with tail prop). Most suet creates very little mess and is high in protein - make sure you buy a good quality one. They also sell "mess-free" seed mixes that have been de-husked.

[quote]They also sell "mess-free" seed mixes that have been de-husked.

Yeah, I was gonna mention that, too. I used to have to sweep up all the time when I was buying peanuts and sunflower seeds still in the shell. Once I discovered the pre-shelled ones, easy-peasy, no more mess! It costs more, but, pound for pound, it's a lot more concentrated because you don't have all that extra weight and volume from the shells. More compact for storing, too.

You can also buy a feeder tray or a bird feeder that comes with a tray. Just google "bird feeder seed catcher tray ." It should prevent bird poop as well as seeds from falling onto the area below the feeder.

This is what I put up with.

Monday morning, my 1st floor neighbor emails me asking me to remove the bird feeder Thursday morning, I do so, and email him back relating that I have done so Wednesday morning, I get an email from the association citing chapter and verse as to why feeders are prohibited

It is just bothersome that the guy felt he need to go to the Gestapo, citing, believe it or not, that it's a "hazard". Such lovely people. Usually they leave me alone, but when they don't , it's typically something like this.

(Corrected and reformatted. "Tuesday", not "Thursday")

This is what I put up with.

Monday morning, my 1st floor neighbor emails me asking me to remove the bird feeder.

Tuesday morning, I do so, and email him back relating that I have done so.

Wednesday morning, I get an email from the association citing chapter and verse as to why feeders are prohibited.

It is just bothersome that the guy felt he need to go to the Gestapo, citing, believe it or not, that it's a "hazard". It had been there for years previously, but now it was a fucking emergency. Such lovely people. Usually they leave me alone, but when they don't, it's typically something petty like this.

Now I have 2 sacks of peanuts that I don't know what to do with. Should I open them up and just throw them into the back yard?

Throw them on your neighbor's doorstep, take a dump on them, then ding and ditch.

Merry Christmas!

Haha, R384!

I think his request is not terribly unreasonable, but what a dick to go right to the rule book and management company. The feeder has been there for years, but he wants it gone immediately. He's not relentlessly overbearing, but when he has a bug up his butt, it's like this. So now, everybody has to remove their feeders. I wasn't the only one with one.

It's a "hazard", you understand! Jeezze, talk about histrionics!

Where is the Condoler? I can't condole myself, I don't think.

^^^^

Aww, R387, thank you!

peep? why have you forsaken me?!?!? PEEP?

r385 I wish I could send your way all the fucking woodpeckers who trash my house every spring with large holes that are conveniently located about 50 feet off the ground. Their noise is maddening and the expensive considerable. There are days I wish I could shoot the buggers.

R390, well, I condole you, even though I am not an official Condoler, this just calls for emergency action.

My little Downy Woodpecker isn't particularly ...hmm... well, he's a sissy. So he's not banging on anybody's door, I don't think. He is eating dirt, I suspect.

There was all this hubbub and commotion out there the first day that the feeder was removed. I think it was Chauncey having a fit. I had the blinds drawn, I couldn't face them, so I can't say.

If you don't like the rule change it. It can be done you know.

As for the peanuts, don't you have a park nearby? The squirrels will probably get 100% of them but they gotta live too.

Thank you for your contribution, R392.

Just put the peanuts on the balcony without a feeder. The birds will find them. Put them on the floor of the balcony.

They said "No feeders." They didn't say "no peanuts."

I have thought of that, R394. It's an interesting idea.

Woodpecker 0; precious neighbor, 1.

I could open the storm window, then put the peanuts on the window sill, between the inside-window and the storm window. The Blue Jays mostly do a grab-and-go, but occassionally they get flustered and drop peanuts down to the neighbor's patio, and I can't risk that, for the time being. I bet there's a 10 foot pile of peanut shells nearby, but I haven't come across it yet.

It's really not that hard to crack the nuts out of their shells, you know. You could probably do the whole bag in less than ten minutes while you sit and watch TV. And, yes, try putting just a handful of nuts out at a time, on the sill or on the floor of the balcony/fire escape. Many birds actually prefer to eat off of a flat surface instead of a feeder.

[quote] Many birds actually prefer to eat off of a flat surface instead of a feeder.

Have they been polled?

Don't the birds go to the park? Feed them at the park and while you're there YOU get some exercise.

This is kind of a neat idea, it's a bird feeder that doesn't really look like a feeder, but like a little piece of sculpture:

Here is what you really need, OP.

No waste, no shells with a suet tray that sits right on your window.

I love feeding wild birds and if I ever had a downstairs neighbor bitching about it, I'd find a way to attract neighbor-eating Harpies.

My Downy Woodpecker was rapping on my metal window frame this morning. I think he's upset that his bird feeder was removed. He's surrounded by peanuts in this clip, but he apparently doesn't go for them.

I think he's saying "Please Sir, may I have some more?"

L'horreur!

Is that a funeral dirge, R403?

It's cold today and I just saw a Blue Jay's breath, when he chirped over something or the other.

First snow that stuck to the ground here over the last couple of days.

Cardinals arrive earliest, nuthatches and mourning doves next, sparrows and finches soon after. A freeze-proof water feature has proved to be a real attraction.

The woodpeckers come all day, to the nut feeder and the suet cage, unperturbed by squirrels and above the fray.

Happy New Year, birder friends

Happy New Year, R406!

Snowy owl spotted soaring on Montreal traffic camera

Wow, he's pretty! (The Snowy Owl.)

I have been feeding peanuts to whomever wants them, since I had to take my bird feeder in. I put them on my storm window frame and it's worked fine for Blue Jays and Chauncy, the Cardinal. My Downy Woodpecker is not interested.

Today, I got a squirrel, so I closed the storm window. He came back, and was confused because he could see the peanuts, but they were on the other side of the storm window. I guess that, is the end of that. I don't care to feed the squirrel.

Squirrels are the price of feeding birds, though.

There's some pretty advanced squirrel-proofing tech out there in the latest feeders, and watching the squirrels try to defeat it with varying degrees of success is part of the fun for me.

More snow, more cardinals, and all the sudden a flock of hungry starlings here. Feeders are emptying out at least twice as fast as usual. The downies don't take any shit from the starlings, to their credit.

You've restored my faith in gay humanity gentle OP. 410 replies, and it has nothing to do with porn, a non-celebrity celebrity, or any of the other trash that usually draws hundreds of DLers.

r411 I'd like to reiterate here if I may that the Downy Woodpecker is a hellish creature who is destroying my home.

I'll be right ovah! Just leave everything to me!

[quote] I'm One Of Them Thar Ivory Billed Woodpeckers...I have you all fooled, don't I?

R411, don't be fooled! I must question if the friendly and hapless Downy Woodpecker is indeed the source of your sadness. I suspect Them Thar Ivory Billed Woodpecker, who seems to take pleasure in having us all fooled, [italic]and [/italic]who has terrible grammar, to boot!

For our edification, please post a picture of your tormentor. Thank you.

In my post at R414, I meant to reference R412, not R411.

See, I'm all rattled about this [italic]alleged, [/italic]rogue Downy Woodpecker.

[quote] R370: I'm really sad. My downstairs neighbor complained about my bird feeder. It's been hanging on the fire escape for years, but he asked me to remove it because he says it creates a mess on the first floor...

Haha, the tree in the backyard just fell on my complaining neighbor's car! Karma in action. Even though I don't believe in karma. The tree was slowly dying, and an ice storm was too much for it.

I miss my birds. I heard the Blue Jays making a racket today and put a handful of peanuts on my window sill despite the embargo.

So cute r402.

I thought so, R417! Not a Raven, but creapy nonetheless. I felt bad for the little fella.

I'm still trying to think of something I could do to feed these birds in a place that I can see and that would not trigger the neighbor. It doesn't have to be debris-free, it needs to [italic]seem [/italic]to be debris free. That is the challenge.

I wish I could think of an idea to help you out. It sucks that you're no longer allowed to feed the birds. However, I'm sure a DLer will come along with some great ideas.

[quote]I'm still trying to think of something I could do to feed these birds in a place that I can see and that would not trigger the neighbor. It doesn't have to be debris-free, it needs to seem to be debris free. That is the challenge.

You've already been given several good suggestions, OP, why aren't you taking them?

You guys are so cute. I love this thread!

R420, Dear Hungry Downy, I got great ideas, but my neighbor has control issues. I think any visable feeder will probably trigger him. Plus, the management company has banned ALL feeders on the fire escapes. Did you read that he went right to the management company, before finding out whether or not I would remove the feeder as he requested (which I did)? So, any visable feeder is verboten!

I'm afraid, as long as he lives here, I cannot have a feeder. Hint hint. Now those are suggestions I could actually use!

P.S. I am sorry you're hungry sweat pea!

I saw the male from one of our two pairs of pileated woodpeckers at my job today. Saw a Western Meadowlark two days ago. The Spring-like weather must be agreeing with them.

[quote]So, any visible feeder is verboten!

Do what I mentioned on one of the above posts--put out a few flowerpots and then discreetly place a little saucer with some seeds behind them. I do this mostly to not attract the squirrels with a visible bird presence, but it would also function well to hide your birdy business from the neighbors' prying eyes. I use one of those clay saucers that go under a flowerpot, and when I want to close down shop for any reason, I simply invert one of the flowerpots over the seed-filled dish and nobody is the wiser. It's actually kind of fun this way, because when the birds want access, they do all kinds of crazy things to get my attention!

That's interesting, R424, I missed your previous post.

We have snow on the ground here, maybe 6", and boy! are the Blue Jays hungry!

I just thought of something I might try. I could open my storm window. Then, regarding the wooden area between my inside window and my storm window, I could line it with newspaper over tin foil, then just place the bird food on it. The lining will keep the area from getting all wrecked with greasy suet. That wouldn't cause any mess for my neighbor, would it? He's very fussy. Once he's got a complaint, he's not one to relent, usually, even if it is a baseless complaint.

Blue Jays come around and stay in warm weather where I am (central NY, below zero with 8" of snow over the past two days) but I rarely see any in winter, so they must prefer slightly warmer climes. It's not like they couldn't eat their fill of the peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet cakes that are attracting all their colleagues of other species lately.

Including goldfinches, back after a noticeable absence, in their winter garb.

Something new that affects the Downies and all the other birds that come to my feeders: a medium-sized hawk has been hanging around our suburban backyard for a few days.

Yesterday I got home, saw a cardinal and some sparrows feeding, and then five minutes later looked out back again to see a hawk *standing in the heated birdbath* just a few feet from the picture window. It was amazing and beautiful, in that "nature is cruel" way. Hawk hung around the yard for hours, but I don't think s/he caught anything. Saw it again this morning, perched in a lilac bush just off the deck.

The other birds have wisely been pretty scarce since the hawk came around. This has happened before, and I assume the hawk will move on the better pastures at some point.

Why don't Hawks go after squirrels, though?!

I would bet that Hawks do go after squirrels. Probably the smaller ones. Are you worried about your backyard squirrel?

R429, no I'm not worried about the squirrels--there are too many grey squirrels around here and despite all the advances in squirrel-resistant feeder tech, they still manage to be a pain in the ass for eating food meant for the wild birds and getting their little claw marks everywhere.

They don't seem at all freaked by this hawk, btw.

There is one black squirrel, smart and gorgeous, whom I'd mourn if a bigger bird of prey was to take him. But the greys can be a hawk and owl banquet as far as I care.

Ugh, yeah, I had a hawk right on my deck the other day, too. I had just opened the door with the intention of refilling the feeder when I saw something HUGE bolt off of the railing and head off to the trees. I grabbed my binoculars to get a better look, and, sure enough, it was one of those mean fuckers. I decided to not put out food for a while until he lost interest and moved on.

In my experience, they seem to favor mourning doves. They are rather slow and stupid, and provide a much bigger meal. A little finch or sparrow would be a mere amuse bouche and probably not worth the trouble. As far as squirrels go, not only are they faster, I think they might be a lot harder to tear apart.

I've been away for two weeks, birding Antarctica and nearby regions.

Did I miss anything on the Datalounge?

Please refrain from discussing squirrels and other birds in this thread. There's no excuse for it. This thread is for Downy Woodpecks. If you wish to talk about other animals, please start and appropriately titled thread. No warnings will be issued THIS time.

R433, who are you? What prints this?

R432:

The guy with the backyard squirrel, "Darryl", came to terms with their relationship.

The OP of this thread was required to remove his bird feeder by his condo association and misses his downy woodpecker.

The grackles have returned to the grackle guy, just this week.

Salted nuts seem to be ok for birds, though I would not try it. There's a recent thread on this.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I recall.

R433, I meant, what prompts this?

[quote] R432: I've been away for two weeks, birding Antarctica and nearby regions.

Have you written your birding report yet? What have you to say? You may need to start a new thread, to keep R433 calm. Any pictures?

Penguins and Petrels and Cormorants, oh my!

Pieces of R433's exploding head will fly!

R438, What if R433 is Muriel? Huh? Did you think of that?

[quote][R438], What if [R433] is Muriel? Huh? Did you think of that?

I tend to think that the Bird Nazi is actually spoofing us, sort of an avian version of a Cheryl-type figure. But it would be delightful if Muriel was another birder!

It is fun that we have a bird Nazi. I like how polite he is, as he tries to direct the show. And - he doesn't turn-up on the other threads.

Ah, I just got proof that spring is, indeed, right around the corner. The male cardinal finally allowed the female to feed at the dish along with him, which is one step closer to mating behavior. All winter long he chases her away if she dares even get near while he's getting his feed on.

blurp

I came upon a gaggle of gobblers at a cemetery today.

Wow! And here I thought it was going to be a pic of Aaron Schock and a few of his cronies.

Turkey bump!

OP, we had a confused Downy Woodpecker at our worksite one year. He kept tapping on a metal pole. The problem? It was alarmed and it meant I had to respond to it.....over and over again.

I am not surprised, R447. The Downy Woodpecker is known to be inconsiderate.

I came upon this guy yesterday. He was making a racket, pecking at this tree. Not a Downy, though.

I think he's awesome!

That's a white-breasted nuthatch! Really neat little birds. There has been a big push to put up nuthatch houses in the last few years because their populations are in steep decline. The one I put up has been confiscated by a very noisy chickadee family even though the hole is supposedly too small for them to squeeze through.

Well, he was going to town on that tree yesterday. Thanks for the info, R451.

I love the nuthatches! After I fill the feeders, they are always the first ones there. They hop along the tree trunk, hang upside down on one of the perches, grab their pick of the mix and take it to their stash in a neighboring tree. Then they come back for more. They usually get a couple of trips in before the other birds decide it's safe to hit the feeder.

Our birds don't seem to care for the mixes with a lot of millet, even the so-called "no waste" variety, so we avoid those, as well as mixes with corn. One thing we've done to save a little money is to get a large bag of the slightly less expensive songbird mix (with a lot of black oil sunflower and safflower seeds in addition to the millet and other grain) and a small bag of the fruit and nut blend and mix them together in a Rubber Maid container. After a day or two it all has a nice fruity smell. The birds seem to like it, and we have a lot less waste than we used to.

I had my first Baltimore Oriole in the yard the other day. What a little beauty! Orange body, jet black head, black stripes on the wings and singing a gorgeous song. I hope he stays.

Baltimore orioles, while nice are NOT downy woodpeckers. Please restrict your discussion to the topic. You may start an additional thread to talk about Baltimore orioles.

Heil, Birdolph Shitler!

May a flock of fully engorged pigeons release their sticky bombs upon your head.

....

Beautiful, R454 and R457!

R455 is incredibly consistent.

No Orioles yet in my yard, but a new bird this year is the beautiful rose-breasted grosbeak. He has been active on feeders with sunflower and Niger seeds.

Downies, nuthatches and now and then the bigger, bolder, red-bellied woodpecker. Tons of goldfinches.

No flickers or hummingbirds yet this year.

We have a ton of birds in our backyard: House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Eurasian Pigeons, Western Scrub Jays, Hummingbirds, American Crows, Mockingbirds , House Finches, Spotted and California Towhees. I love it.

[quote][R455] is incredibly consistent.

I've come to find them rather charming, in a "every village has one" kind of way. ;)

Migrating Birds Boycott North Carolina.

No word yet from Downy Woodpecker as we go to press.

Those Social Justice Warblers should stage a shit-in.

Bomb the bastards! Stick it to the Man!

Brilliant, R464! May a chicken lay an egg on your doorstop!

Any bird news, lately?

Got a pair of Grey Catbirds in my yard now. I've been hearing the high-pitched twitter of baby cardinals, but have yet to see them. There are berries on some of the trees now, so the birdies have been spending more time over there instead of at the feeder.

R467, the Grey Catbirds are unrelated to the Cardinals, right? Like, they're not going to eat them, are they?

I saw a starling or perhaps it was a chickadee catch a moth on the wing today, and also yesterday. Yum. It was during the day in both cases, would that make it a butterfly? It made me glad to be too big to be casually eaten by the local fauna. It's a doggie-dog world out there, that's for sure!

I heard today that they can't take birds into outerspace because they need gravity to swallow.

Or at least an extra twenty...

I haven't seen this thread in ages but to the op....yes that hawk ate the dove...that was his victory cry.

Oh, riding the circle of life can make you nauseous sometimes, R471!

I was distressed today to find my Downy Woodpecker is cheating on me at a neighbor's feeder. I took pics, but they didn't come out clearly enough to post. I can't say I blame him, since I've stopped putting out after my downstairs neighbor complained about the mess left below. But still, after 5 years, doesn't that count for something?

I'm happy for him that he's been able to move on, but I shall wear black until the day I die.

I condole thee, OP, but, hey, a bird's gotta do what a bird's gotta do...

All you can hope for is that, years from now, when they peep about this - and they will - they will be kind.

Very funny, R474, I feel better already.

First sighting of a hawk hanging around my backyard Friday, looking for easy prey at the feeders.

More Downies than ever at the suet, a couple of bluejays most days, cardinals starting to increase in numbers at dawn and dusk as the nights get cold. I hope the hawk (a young Coopers, I think) doesn't scare off let alone kill too many. Hawk tends to come and go.

I like the Cardinals. They have a little cherp that I like. And they look fierce.

I haven't seen my beloved Claude the Cardinal in a while and I'm a bit worried. I still see his lady on occasion, but not nearly as frequently; usually if one is around the other's not far behind.

Hmm, R478, where are you domiciled? It sounds like it might involve fowl-play.

Burp

Downy woodpecker will save us!

If he's in league with our Almiqui overlord, all things are possible.

The dowies are known to be the best peckers in the neighborhood.

And who doesn't love a great pecker?

I've never seen one but I've heard them in my neighborhood and I was really startled to find out that was actually a bird and not some sort of power tool.

No shit, 484! There's been many a morning that I came down out of bed, wondering if carpenters were here working on the building, only to find out it was one of those pesty little black and white shitheads pounding away.

LEAVE DOWNY WOODPECKER ALONE! He hasn't hurt anybody!

Hey, if the downy is at the wrong feeder at the right time...

[quote]Downy woodpecker will save us!

He's no me

^Ivory Billed Woodpecker = woodpecker snob

Neither one of them is me r488 r489

This is R490 when he takes off his caftan.

^Only 6 views!? It's a Do-Do for God!s sake!

Face it, Do-Do Bird, you're yesterday's news. Nobody cares about you as you carry no weight around here.

I care

Yay! The bird nerds return! Did y'all fly south for the winter?

It's official, Downy Woodpecker is a STAR!!!

He even has his own limo driver:

for OP >>>

Not to stray from topic, because Downies are still visiting my feeders...

Robins came early and so did the grackles and starlings, in my yard, and I hear about hummingbirds arriving weeks earlier than expected nearby. Climate change is real, bird boys.

Thanks, R496! That was beautiful! You too, R497, that was groovy!

I love the Downy Woodpecker- By far the friendliest bird I know! I had many more in the winter, not as many now. I think they get busy fucking in the spring, so god bless them! Cardinals are the biggest cardinals alive! They know how striking they are and won't let you near them. The motherfucking cardinal that visits my feeder can hear when I'm coming to the door from the inside and flies the fuck away!

Love checking out the birds in the spring/summer!

And my sentence was meant to read that cardinals are the biggest CUNTS I know!

I love birds. I keep these baby pool thingies in the backyard during the summer so when there's no rain they have a couple inches of water to drink and bathe in. After a couple days, I water outdoor plants with the old water and re-fill.

I also throw out food for them, whatever I can spare (old cookies, donuts, bread, etc.).

I see Downy, Hairy, and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers (and Northern Flickers) in my yard, and I've seen Pileated Woodpeckers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers at the nearby cemetery. The only native from this area that I've never seen is the Red-headed Woodpecker, although I know of a spot in the next county where they're supposed to be easy to view. And, of course, the probably extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

Last year, while I was working (my computer faces my backyard) I saw a Cooper's Hawk bolt out of the sky and grab a Mourning Dove that was sunning on the back hillside. I felt bad for the dove, but hawks need to eat, too.

My cardinals and blue jays are timid, too. They'd fly away if I approached the window where the feeder was.

Hawks are cool, too. I love them. I live in a city but see them when I go to parks or cemeteries.

You have no idea how much I love the Downy Wodopecka!

R505, Why don't you tell us why?

Because the really hairy ones are too hard to get out of your teeth.

Oh, R507! Speachless, here. Nonplussed, even.

Fucking starlings (illegal immigrants, look it up) are eating more than their share of the suet and seeds that I put out, but the Downies, hairys and red-bellieds still come.

Closer to work, near a river that empties into a Great Lake, more Ospreys and Osprey nests than I've seen in my lifetime. Which could all change if our new EPA administrator rolls back as many environmental protections as his boss wants him to, I suppose.

Saw a ruby-throated grosbeak at a feeder the other day. That's a rare one for me.

I haven't seen a Downy here in a long while (SW Ont) or a Flicker for that matter; we usually have both.

I did see a Baltimore Oriole after 25 years, and a rose breasted grosbeak, too.

I also love raptors, and our screech owls are still gone. We have a pair of turkey vultures in the neighbourhood, so there's that. (Yes, ornithological pedants, I'm aware they are not raptors. I think of them that way because of their size. Kill me.)

....

R510, what happened to your dystopian world, that your nice-birds have all fled? Have you nothing but starlings?

Ever wonder how European starlings came to the U.S.? Blame Shakespeare

I miss telephone poles.

Starlings and Orioles, while nice birds, are NOT Downy Woodpeckers. Please refrain from straying off topic. If you wish to discuss other birds, please make a separate thread.

Thank You

I love you, "Topic Troll". I miss you when you're gone, and I mean that sincerely. Not that I'd listen to you, but still. You're fun to have around.

I can't imagine a true birder saying 'Starlings are nice birds.'

Orioles, yes. Their panhandling cousins, the Grackles, can be somewhat entertaining in parking lots. But I don't see the redeeming quality of the invasive Starling.

I saw me a Ivory Billed Woodpecker and when I went up to it, it told me to keep my mouth shut if I knew what was good for me.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, the Second Billed Woodpecker was heard screaming "Get me a new agent!"

I love this thread.

My ex-bf lives in a modern log cabin on the other side of the county. I didn't realize the maintenance issues that would come with a log cabin. All summer long, carpenter bees are boring holes in the sides: he says he can hear them buzzing as they all return to their holes at dusk, and settle in for the night. But now he has woodpeckers drilling into the house to extract the larvae. I examined the damage, and from his description, it must be a red-bellied woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker!

R522, That is so cute! Thanks!

Because of the voracious starlings and grackles, I was very skimpy on the suet I put out over the summer. I assume the woodpeckers had plenty to eat without me.

Now that migration time for the invaders is coming, I am stocking up on seed and suet and looking forward to getting back into the groove of bird feeding. I know my Downy, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Red-bellied, Cardinal and even Blue Jay friends will remember where to find a good meal

Protest over

I just took my air conditioner in. Almost immediately, a blue jay appeared, squawking for peanuts. That was usually my habit. Once the A/C came in, the bird feeder went out, hung from the fire escape, but my neighbors complained. It’s been at least two years since I fed my birds. Could blue jays live that long, and remember?

Absolutely! Blue jays are related to crows, and they have been proven to have high intelligence and the ability to carry long memories. You should still sneak a few random nuts out there, but without using the attention-attracting feeder. Take the shells off, too, so there's no evidence.

Coincidentally, I had a little downy banging on my wall this morning and I thought of this thread.

I actually used to put the peanuts on the inside of my window sill. My BJs only ventured completely in twice, but their little hearts were beating so hard! They have me well trained. They (used to) sit outside and squawk. And magically, peanuts appear. These BJs are very skittish. My Downy is much more brave. He’s like a honey badger.

I have issues with my condo association. I’m on a thin rope. Is that an expression? You get it, though. So, no more bird feeders. Sad!

Watch the video at least to the 20 sec mark and be wowed!

Oh, and thank you, R526.

I saw two red shouldered hawks last week and they were beautiful in the sun rise.

NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation publishes a great magazine, Conservationist, that I have subscribed to for years (upstate nature geek that I am). The latest issue has a fine article about woodpeckers. Of the nine species that can be found in NY, I am proud to say that four of them have been to my backyard suet feeder: Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, and the Flicker.

The big Pileated Woodpecker apparently stays in the rural woodlands--I'd love to spot one sometime.

R530, why don’t you write one with an invitation?

Yes, but make sure it's written in this particular hieroglyphic style. It's their lingua franca.

You remind me of this, R532. It’s a column in Berlin, still showing bullet holes from WWII.

So, on schedule now that the foliage is gone, I once again have a hawk coming around and perching in my backyard near the feeders, looking to make a meal of the birds who come by. I can always tell when s/he has been around by the amount of food in the feeders not being eaten as much, because the sparrows and cardinals and chickadees know the hawk is around.

While it's cool to see a raptor (Coopers Hawk or young Red-Tailed, maybe) so close to my windows, it pisses me off. I rap on the windows, open the deck doors and clap my hands or bang garden tools to chase the hawk off. Works for a while.

Pileated Woodpeckers, sparrows and hawks are NOT Downy Woodpeckers, please stay on topic. You won't be warned again.

Downy Woodpecker tried to grab my Titmouse!

Cut off his suet! Ban him from the feeder!

Downy Woodpeckers are kind and gentle. They don’t hurt anybody.

R537, Tell that to this tree!

Tree, please read R537.

It was a victim of cis pecker privilege!

Chauncey Lives!

Oops, here’s Chauncey.

I like how Chauncey gets a little rattled when he sees a blue jay fly by.

These birds are a bunch of attention whores.

Here’s a blue jay.

Oh, it does my heart good to see little Chauncey is still around. Sadly, I can't say the same for my beloved Claude, I believe he has finally shuffled off this mortal coil and now resides at the big treat dish in the sky.

Sorry to hear that, r546.

The hoggish starlings and grackles are back at my feeders, which means a much bigger seed budget for me until next fall. But it's worth it to keep the cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches, mourning doves and blue jays coming back.

I swear I spend as much feeding wild birds every month as a friend who has two dogs and three cats.

This Downy is a little confused,

Not a downy, but a baby blue heron. Looks like a velociraptor.

Here’s the Blue Heron as an adult.

I vowed I wasn't going to feed the birds this year, so, of course a sweet little goldfinch just had to show up on my deck yesterday. Damn him. DAMN HIM!

Here’s Chauncey’s gal pal. This is a cross post but she’s so cute I had to post it here, too.

Bless you OP for your kindness to an innocent and precious little citizen!

Thank you, Erna.

On topic: a fight between a downy and a sparrow on one of my suet feeders this evening resulted in the woodpecker backing off. I assume the sparrow may be a new mother, since she seemed to be collecting and not eating.

Off-topic: I love seeing Great Blue Herons in flight and perched near water. Sometimes they're in trees; sometimes standing in streams or near shore. They do remind me of pterodactyls.

R555, where are you? Do you have my Downy Woodpecker? He’s missing.

Downy Woodpecker came by today for a visit. He’s fine, he sends his love.

Thanks, Birdman. Down here (Houston) we see Pileated Woodpeckers often enough.

On Twitter, for relief from bad news, I've followed Audubon and an Asian birding group as well as Cornell Labs (which had a nice story today about a teenager setting up boxes for bluebirds near her house). On Facebook I follow Birds of Texas so that my feed gets photos of roseate spoonbills and rufous hummingbirds.

I'll take all the photos of beautiful birds I can get.

Downy woodpecker is a stud!

I like your deck, R557 (OP?). Is that all yours or is it shared with other units in the building?

Thanks, R559, it’s all mine, babe! Here are some better pics of the deck I uploaded to show the Walkable Glass.

Excellent views, I love it.

R560, Wow! That's really impressive!

Thank you, R561 & R562.

I still walk around the Walkable Glass, despite its intended use. Just habit. The manufacturer says they drive trucks over the glass for fun in the warehouse, so it’s perfectly safe. Still feels weird.

Here he is, in flight.

This is Doris Downy Woodpecker, showing off. I’m afraid I lost her mate, who used to come around.

Doris is delightful. I wonder if she might actually be a juvenile.

I’ll have to research that, R566. The male made an appearance earlier this year, but he must be at least 8 at this point, which is old, so who knows what might have happened to him.

Imagine a world where there are predators at 360° around, is that the proper description? I don’t think it is. That must be stressful. For the most part, humans only have to worrory about predators running on the earthly plain, or occasionally in trees. .

R566, make sure to clink the imgur link. The first comment has two short videos of Doris. She came back later, when she was “ready for her closeup”.

I never thought I’d be the old guy feeding the pigeons, metaphorically, but I enjoy this. I hope it inspires me later to branch out into more exotic birding.

Oh, hech, I’ll just attach it here. Why not?

The neighbors stopped by for a cup of coffee and some worms,

I had a bluebird at my birdfeeder today. My heart skipped several beats.

If you want to attract hummingbirds, plant some Penta (Egyptian star flower) this spring. I found that out quite by accident when I put one in last year. They attract butterflies, too. Easy care, nice looking, and suitable for planters.

My pal Chauncey. Short video, though uneventful.

I just had some henna accents done. My girl does great work. What do you think?

Ya look like a fookin' hussy. Why doncha go poke holes in somebody's siding and stay away from my food!

The sparrows are humping up there. I just look the other way.

R565 Doris is delightful, what a cool shot!

R573 Every side is your best side!

I think R573 is Trans. I think Doris was just an immature tween, and got the red-on-the-back-of-the-head when he grew-up. Sorry, no verificatta, it’s just a sense I have. And I’m no expert, despite my moniker.

Doris rubbed me!!! She sniffed my hair and said she wanted to violate me!!!

Her exact words were "I am gonna out the woodpecker to ya, ya little slut!"

Fucking cunt!!!

PUT THE WOODPECKER TO ME!!

PUT THE WOODPECKER TO ME!!!

Sorry the picture of Doris triggered me and I could barely type!

[quote]I think [R573] is Trans.

If ze demands zer own special place to drop doo-doo, that will be the proof.

Now I have two! I love my Downy Woodpeckers.

R578, Are you sure she's not a gynandromorph?

Does it wear a mask now?

Is he soft and tumbley