Downy Smack Down On The Suet Log 7
Believe it or not, that large suet log is not big enough for those three downy woodpeckers. What’s even crazier is that the suet that is currently in there is not the best suet on the planet. The label read “high energy peanut” but when I was mashing it into the holes on the log, it was chock full of cracked corn and white millet. All part of the unregulated world of bird food–there are no requirements for bird seed manufacturers to list ingredients in any particular order.
I love these two females trying to raise raise their beaks higher to prove dominance. Periodically, one would flare out her wings, not unlike a hawk mantling it’s wings over a fresh kill to look to more intimidating. They resulted in an impasse, and fluttered off chasing each other, leaving the feeder open to other woodpeckers.
Oh, that makes sense now! When you posted the pic on Twitter, I kept thinking, “What are they looking at?”
My suet feeder is a big wire cage that has plain old suet from the grocery store meat case. Is plain suet OK? I put out a fresh hunk every week. The woodpeckers, flickers and chickadees dig in everyday.
So cool!
I love that feeder, too -I think I’d like to put something like that in my own yard!
jen8
plain suet is just fine. Sometimes we use that too in a larger cage.
The suet sandwich is a hard plastic feeder that has a thin slot for suet. It is more like the crevices in trees that woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and creepers would get into for larvae. Because of that, it’s a great feeder to keep raccoons from stealing all your suet.
Lovely post and photos–I like the unique log. And posturing birds remind me of humans, haha.
Hi Birdchick,lovely Images.
Great Blog.
John.
Thanks, John!