Oh, how I love my birds

In my last post, I mentioned how Carolina Wrens are the apple of my eye as far as species that dine at my feeders in winter go(or any time of year, really). If a weekend of counting for Project FeederWatch goes by with a goose egg on my list next to "CAWR"* (the 4-letter shorthand, known as bander's code or alpha code, for CArolina WRen), it makes me sad. I worry.

This weekend I was sitting at the dining room table having a late breakfast, and I wondered out loud if "my" wrens were okay, because I had not yet heard a peep from them or seen them. Oftentimes they are one of the first birds I hear in the morning, so that was why I was a little concerned. Not to worry, though. As soon I finished posing the question to my bowl of cereal, up popped a wren onto the railing and right into the bowl that holds the bird dough.

It's when things like this happen that I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of connection between myself and the birds. I mean, come on! Wonder about the bird and then it shows up immediately thereafter, as if conjured?!

Don't worry, Heather - we are here and we are fine. Now, if you don't mind, I'm just going to sit in the food.
There were actually 2 of them sitting in here at one point, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera to get a shot of that. In total, there were 3 Carolina Wrens at my feeders at one time this weekend, as was the case last weekend. I had 3 of them at one time in early December, too. This is remarkable because this is the first year in 7 years of counting for FeederWatch that I've ever seen 3 Carolina Wrens at once at my feeders.

Contemplating his/her next bite?
I also enjoy the woodpeckers, and we get three species of them reliably: Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied. The Downies seem to be the most tame of the three, readily coming in to the suet feeders even if I'm standing right next to them. This sweet little female Downy Woodpecker looks like she just landed, what with the little spray of snow under her tail.

Tra-la-la, minding her own business, making sure I'm getting her good side...

... then this feisty fella shows up. Doesn't he look MAD?! His little head feathers are all puffed up, full of 'tude.

Here's a look at his puffed up mane from the back:

And even though he's chased the female away by now, his bravado continues:

Oh wait, never mind. It's all cool. No problems here, lady.

Lemme jus' grab a big ol' hunk o' dough...

And get on outta here!

I soooo love this shot, caught serendipitously by depressing the shutter at just the right time, of course. It almost has the feel of a raptor caught in flight rather than a woodpecker.

Yes, friends, these are just a few examples of why I love my birds. They are wonderful in every way.

*Okay, regarding the alpha code for Carolina Wren... CAWR isn't technically correct, because that abbreviation could also refer to 2 other wren species in the United States: CActus WRen and CAnyon WRen. The correct bander's code for each of these species is as follows: CACW (Cactus Wren), CARW (Carolina), and CANW (Canyon). I use CAWR for my wren, though, because the chances of me encountering either of the other 2 species, which live out west, is pretty remote at my feeders. Besides, it's shorthand that's supposed to be easy for ME to read. But I digress.

Dauntless Downy Woodpecker

At our feeders nestled in the woods, 5 species of woodpeckers have been observed dining on suet, and occasionally on sunflower seeds and peanuts. In order of appearance from least to most common, those woodpeckers are: Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted form), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker. On very rare occasions I will see Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers on our property, but they have never come to the feeders.

As you might imagine, the least common visitors get the biggest hoots and hollers from me, and are most likely to find themselves in the cross-hairs of my camera lens. This is unfair to the more common visitors, such as the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers. As I was looking for photos to illustrate this post, I noticed that I don't have very many photos of Downy Woodpeckers, and the ones that I do have all look virtually the same.


Yup, that's a male Downy Woodpecker clinging to the suet cage. We can tell that it's a male by the little note of red on the back of his head; female Downies have no red on their head.

While I may not jump up and down every time I see a Downy Woodpecker, I certainly do appreciate each appearance they make. They are easily visible year-round, and the parents will bring their begging fledges to our suet feeders once they are old enough to leave the safety of the nest. One time, about 5 years ago, they nested in a snag just above our driveway, and we were alerted to said nest by the incessant begging of the babies within. It took a few days to figure out where this high-pitched squeaking, reminiscent of a mouse with a megaphone, was coming from, and I was happy to learn that it was a clutch of successfully hatched wee Downies.

Since woodpeckers aren't songbirds, we don't really think of them making much noise except for pecking and drumming with their bills on trees or fence posts. They do emit a number of vocalizations, though. Downies make a loud "pick!" sound as well as a whinnying-type of call that descends in pitch at the end. They also make some other squeaky and churring calls, especially when several birds are in close proximity to each other. The Downy population in our woods has slowly been on the rise since I started counting them for Project FeederWatch seven years ago. At first we would only see 1 or 2 Downies at a time, but now it is common to have at least 4 within view at once. I know there are more of them around than that, but keeping them all in sight at one time is tricky! When they are not perched on a feeder, they are in constant motion, hitching up and down the trees in search of bugs in and under the bark, and during the winter it seems like they are constantly bickering, harassing each other, and shooing each other away.


A Downy at the homemade bird dough bowl, watching someone else fly by. Perhaps another Downy?
This year I have noticed an interesting trend among my Downies. Normally when I step outside to refill the feeders, or just to have a look around on the deck, all the birds scatter except for the fearless Carolina Chickadees. Now the Downies are joining the ranks as the next species to be unperturbed by my presence. I can stand right next to the suet feeders with a Downy at arm's length, munching away like it doesn't even see me. Yet another bird whose trust I have presumably earned. I feel mighty honored to stand so close to these fantastic creatures.

Just can't get enough...

There's that saying "good to last drop." Well, apparently bird dough is good to the last crumb. When the bowl is empty, some of my birdies will resort to trying to lap up any crumbs that might have gotten UNDER the bowl.

The Downies definitely exhibit this behavior.

Carolina Wren, however, wins the prize for "most persistent."

Ehn, ehn!

Got a morsel!

Also wins the prize for "most acrobatic."

Who can resist that little booty sticking up in the air? 'Tocks up!

Juvenile Downy Woodpecker and the suet cage

Right now across much of North America many can probably hear the sound of nestlings and juvenile birds begging for food from their parents. I love watching the parents feed their babies, especially once the little ones start coming to the feeders with mom and dad. But it's also rewarding to watch them start to "spread their wings" so to speak, and to start getting food for themselves. The woodpeckers have been keeping our suet feeders very busy this spring, and now the little ones are finally latching on to the little metal cages and feeding themselves.

Isn't that the sweetest little face? Looks like he needs a napkin, though.

Ghost bird, I

Ghost bird, II

PHOEBE NEST UPDATE: The second brood of Eastern Phoebes fledged Saturday morning. We didn't catch it on film this time, unfortunately, but I hope they all made it out safe and sound.

His and Hers

The woodpecker activity has greatly increased at our feeders over the last several weeks, from all 3 of our resident species -

Downy:

Hairy:

and Red-bellied:

I expect to see LOTS of baby woodpeckers this summer!


We have 2 suet cages that really didn't see much action over the winter, but I've been refilling them quite a bit through the month of March. Today I caught Mr. and Mrs. Downy Woodpecker dining side by side...

His...

and Hers.