Smart Downy
We have a ton of woodpecker action at our feeders right now. Even Non Birding Bill is impressed. The other day we had a pair of hairy woodpeckers and a pair of downy woodpeckers. They were so funny because each was on its own branch and were warily checking each other out as they creeped higher in the tree. One would inch up and swing its head from side to side checking out the other birds and then another would follow suit and so on and so forth.As NBB and I were watching this a fifth woodpecker zoomed across the window. It was a male downy who then took advantage of the stand off (or would it be called a perch off?) and went straight for the suet log. I started smushing suet onto the brick wall on the other side of the window to accomodate more woodpeckers at one time and keep things civil. The downy woodpeckers took to the wall suet right away as I found with the Wingscapes camera yesterday.
I have a ton of errands today before I leave for Atlanta tomorrow. It's going to be so much fun and work seeing friends, former bosses, new birding toys and balmy weather.
posted by birdchick at 8:54 AM
5 Comments:
hiay. i'm a long-time lurker - somehow at some point i stumbled across your disapproving rabbit. i'd have emailed you this question, but the *ahem* improved *ahem* blogger won't show me your profile. i'm currently involved in a rather heated discussion with a bunch of cat people who think i'm full of it when i told them that hawaii's native wildlife are in decline due in part to free-ranging cats. i don't suppose you have any resources i could use to help prove my point?
thanks!
ericka
Ericka, take a gander at this report in the American Bird Conservancy's Cats Indoors section.
Birdchick:
Your Downy is much smarter than mine. Twice, I have had to rescue him from the bluebird feeder (one with clear Plexiglas sides and wooden ends with entry holes) where I offer mealworms and Julie's suet dough mixture for bluebrids and Carolina wrens. Both times he got himself in, then tried to go out through the (solid wood) roof. Doofus!
Erika:
You will never win the debate with people over letting cats go outdoors. (This from a dog & cat vet.) Yes, feral cat colonies have decimated native bird populations, particularly when introduced to islands. Birds are at risk in the USA, too, even from well-fed, owned pet cats. The hunting instinct is too strong; cats kill even when they don't need to eat. But, as I tell my clients, if you want to get into a big fight, bring up one of two "hot button" issues with cat owners: Whether or not to declaw, and whether cats should be indoors only or go outside. Both sides feel very strongly about their choices, and will defend them to the death. Just an FYI.
~Kathi, wondering why Blogger 2 always makes her go through word verification twice. Is that what the "2" stands for?
loved pics of rough legged boom chick-bow-wow
I've only witnessed one incident of a red-belly and a hairy going for the suet, but I'm thinking I can attract more woodies by smearing suet in different places.
Speaking of doofus woodies, a hairy pecked on the corner of our asbestos-sided house for an HOUR one day before finally figuring out that no bugs were coming out of there. I shooed him twice (fearing he'd get cancer from asbestos!) but he kept coming back!
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