Downy Woodpeckers
In my blog on 3/19, I posted photos of a pair of Downy Woodpeckers in mating rituals. Many creatures are just like us –
there is courting before mating. For Downys, this involves looking at each other, fluttering around each other, and chasing each other. All this happened in the trees on the north shore of our property. Here are photos of the hole they drilled high up in a tree on the south shore of our property – our property is a peninsula jutting out into a small lake. This hole faces east. So it looks like the courting was successful – this pair bonded and drilled a hole for laying eggs and raising their young. If the pair is successful in fledging young, we all should see their juveniles at the feeders early this summer.
This pair of Downys should be in excellent health. If you watch the birdfeeder camera regularly, you will have seen these Downys at the feeders quite a bit all last fall and winter – especially on the log of suet. They simply devoured that suet. I sure wish I could live on a diet heavy in lard and peanut butter! My Aunt Opal made the world’s best pies when I was growing up – and she always used lard in her crusts. My much healthier use of olive oil makes pie crust just not worth the time and trouble. Not tender. Not flakey. Not much of anything……
This afternoon, the log suet feeder is coming down for the summer season. We will put it back up next fall when the weather starts to turn cold. In its place will be a tube of sunflower seeds – our birds here seem to like the black-oiled sunflower seed best. If you need tips on bird feeders and bird seed, please click on “Bird Feeders and Bird Baths”. If you still have questions or something you would like to discuss, please use the Public Forum to ask your questions of everyone or email me at lindahendricksspence@BirdingBeyondtheFieldguide.com