Woodpecker Romance!

[rain_gryphon]

The Downy Woodpecker who's been eating at the cake feeder all winter seems to have attracted a smokin' hot Woodpecker Babe! So far the interest is more on her side than his (he chases her away if she gets too close while he's eating) but I'm sure that will change quickly.

Comments

[moonhare]

Aw, sweet!

I had a fairly bright orange-colored cardinal in the tree above me by the shed yesterday while I was working on the tiller. It didn’t sing the ‘birdie-birdie-birdie’ refrain but a sadder little song. I thought maybe it was a female looking for the male who generally perches up there.

[rain_gryphon]

Awww!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

cake feeder! I didn't know they ate anything except pecked bugs!

[xolo.livejournal.com]

Here, at least, there are no bugs during the winter. They generally subsist on seeds and berries to get by. The animal fat from the bird cakes is closer to their summer diet, and I rather imagine that "my" Woodpeckers are starting the breeding season with an advantage. Woodpeckers and Nuthatches were hitting that feeder heavily all winter long, with the Sparrows and Starlings using it some (they were both more interested in the seed dispenser, but liked a little bit of fat now and then). Unexpectedly, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker, who's a big bird, worked out a bizarre, awkward way to hang from the seed tube so he could get (I think) sunflower seeds.