A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Picoides pubescens
Male, Downy Woodpecker on a Paper-white Birch tree. The males and female can be told apart as only the males have the red patch on the back of their heads.
On a birch tree where there's a hanging bask of beef suet. Birch tree and beef suet are located next to a (frozen) lake and within five miles of wetlands, farmlands and woodlands.
We have plenty of woodpeckers coming to our yard on an hourly, daily basis for: Beef Suet, Black-oil Sunflower Seeds, bugs and bug larvae in dead trees and dead tree stumps as well as the occasional unsalted peanut and orange. Sharing the suet this day were: Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees as well as Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers. They've gotten so used to me I've had Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees and Chipping Sparrows land on my hands, head and arms while standing near or refilling the suet baskets and platform feeders.
Spotted on Dec 13, 2012
Submitted on Dec 15, 2012
14 Comments
YukoChartraw-Thank you so much!! Sometimes we overlook the beauty right before our very eyes, eh? I've been trying to make a conscience effort to photograph the common as well as the rare or most beautiful after commenting once on an image and being told, "they're not special, we have a ton of them around". To me it was a beautiful animal; I'd never seen one before...light bulb moment, if you will. "-)
williefromwi-Thanks for the link! I left you a comment there. I hope he survives. Please let me know what you find out, okay? Fresh oranges daily should help his odds but his coloring will make him stand out to predators and sub-zero temperatures could do him in. I hope I'm wrong. Thanks again for keeping me in the loop with this lovely Oriole! :-)
JanelleL.Streed, Thank you so much for the information about where to call if the Baltimore Oriole I see daily, should need to be cared for because of the harsh winters here in Wisconsin............... I have posted two spottings of him, and am pleased to tell you he weathered a pretty brutal snowstorm that ended yesterday morning. I have a spotting up with quality photos of him in the snow. I thought I would post you a comment and a link to my PN spotting here so as to bring it to your attention. Please know that I am going to do everything in my power to make sure he is treated like a king and remains well fed. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/169...
Beautiful capture! Especially love the 1st pic for both the woodpecker and the tree (beautiful warm color).
KarenL.-Right?! See and photograph as well, or so I pray. "-) If you hear them, that's a very good sign. We lost a number of trees in our front and back yard due to "straight-line winds" that came through two summers in a row plus had some trees that were dying or dead. My Dad wanted to remove them all. I begged him to leave 3-4 that were still standing upright and to trim them down to 7-9 feet where they wouldn't be a danger to the cabin and/or garage. Eventually those trees themselves became the attraction or feeding stations for the Pileateds. Apparently a dead or dying tree attracts bugs like carpenter ants, termites and such that the Pileateds love. All year long but especially in the fall, they hammer away at them. In the process they open up holes that other animals and birds use but they also uncover the insects far more efficiently and expediently than say a Downy. Once the Pileated moves on the other woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and creepers move in eating their fill as well thus I call them "feeding stations". I think it also helps that so many other birds are freely coming to the yard singing our praise. We've actually had Mallards, Canadian Geese and Common Loons sit in the lake near our dock (spring, summer and fall) as if coming to see for themselves what all the singing is about. Be warned that other "hungry" critters will follow the call as well. We've had: raccoon, mink, deer, Bald Eagles, hawks, feral cats and Short-tailed Weasels show up as well. You say your raccoons eat your suet? Back in the Twin Cities I had Possum and squirrels coming and eating my suet but I've never had a problem with raccoons eating the plain beef suet. They do come and eat my homemade suet logs but I think its either the smell of the peanut butter or the corn meal that's attracting them. Come winter they typically disappear, semi-hibernating in area trees but come spring, they're all over the grape jelly or jam I put out for the Baltimore Orioles and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Its all good though. Typically its almost gone by the time (dusk) they show up so they're my warm-weather cleanup crew, as are the turkey and deer throughout the winter. :-)
Haha, yes same here - though the red-bellied are also pretty relaxed around humans. We put out suet too, though much of it is robbed by the raccoons. I've finally found a feeder they've not broken into - yet! I've never seen a pileated at the feeders but I know they are in the woods alongside our yard so I remain hopeful. I hope you get to see the Three-toed and Black-backed!
KarenL.-Thank you!! I've been putting out beef suet for four years now so we get them all however, I'd love to find/photograph the Three-toed and Black-backed some day. I understand they're only found in the farthest north-eastern areas in Minnesota and north, north-western Wisconsin. I may need to take a car trip and spend a week up there in the winter soon. I love the rare or unusual; put feathers or fur on it and I'm dreaming of the day we two shall meet. "-))) The Downy Woodpeckers are by far the bravest or most human accepting though, in my opinion. They keep me going out, refilling their suet baskets even in -25 degree Fahrenheit temperatures and have me twisted around their little claws, for sure. "-)))
Lovely series Janelle! We have several pairs of downies (& the odd hairy) hanging out around our feeders & I never tire of watching them.
williefromwi-Thank you! A Baltimore Oriole in winter?!! You may want to call a wildlife rehaber in your area as it may have a broken or injured wing that may allow it to fly short distances but not fully migrate and may not survive. I'm not an expert but I had a brown Thrasher with a similar problem. By the time I located someone and found out what to do, he'd disappeared never to be seen again. :-( I'm not sure if he was finally well enough to fly or (more likely) he died from the extreme cold. I live in an area where we don't have any rehabers so would have had to try catching and transporting him 2 hours away but I was willing and ready to do what I could to help him. Here's the number I called. They may be able to look for someone near you that can help you Oriole. 1-651-486-9453 Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Minnesota. Good luck and thank you!! :-)
Nice capture. My birding activity actually picks up a bit in winter as the birds that are normally here all year are more visible. I like you am hoping for more sunny skies or at least brightly overcast days. I did get a rare bird photographed in the last few days, a Baltimore Oriole. Perhaps you will be blessed with a rare bird this winter too.
Sarah Smith-Thank you!! So many of our birds leave or migrate south in the winter. Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Geese, Mallards, Cedar Waxwings and occasionally Robins stay and there seem to be plenty of them to find and photograph. Now, if only we had as much sunshine as we do woodpeckers... "-)))
ceherzog-Thank you! :-)
Great pictures i've always wanted to see a woodpecker!
Lovely shots!