Woo Hoo .... I have woodpeckers!!!!

I am so easily delighted! Look, look, I have a pair of woodpeckers. Showed up for the first time at my feeders and seemed to make themselves right at home! Yay!!! My camera has a lousy zoom range, so the pic is not real sharp or close-up, but just had to show ya!

I don't know anything about Woodpeckers except that they make a loud sound like a nail driver when digging for bugs on tree trunks and utility poles.

These 2 kind of looked like juveniles to me. And I have no idea what species of woodpecker they are. I'm in the east coast southern central zone in Florida. Anyone know what kind of woodpecker they are?

Here's a better one of the woodpecker on the tube feeder. Maybe someone can ID him from this photo.

Red Bellieds!!!

Female on the left, male on right. Notice the difference in head coloring. CONGRATULATIONS BECKY!!! These are one of my favorite visitors!

Peanuts shelled or not are their favorite.

I buy a bag of peanut halves just for them. Of course lots of other birds like them too.

This message was edited Feb 27, 2007 8:05 AM

Heres a link to tell you more about them.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker.html

Oh man! Thanks for the ID and the great web link, Pelle! I was listening to the woodpecker calls and sounds and I hear this ALL the time when I am out in my backyard. But haven't actually seen them in over a year. And have only had the feeders up for a short while, so I've never seen them that close. They weren't so skittish as some of the other birds. I could actually watch them from the back porch. So I possibly have a mating pair, huh? How cool is that!!! I'm psyched!

Becky, Love your red-bellied woodpeckers. I get them here, but rarely see 2 together, and you have a pair! Becky

I get them at my backard feeder and I can hear them coming from way down the street because they start calling as soon as they head for my feeders. They LOVE suet cakes!

judy - I have a peanut butter suet cake right there on the feeder post. None of the birds even check it out. The woodpeckers seemed to like some of the seeds. (They flipped out seeds they didn't like onto the ground for the squirrels.) I do have peanuts and sunflower seeds in the feeders.

Beclu727 - I was so surprised to get .... not just one but .... two of them for the first time! Ya coulda knocked me over with a woodpecker feather when I saw them both this morning! Made my day!!!! :-)

Becky;,

Congratulations,,,,,, A nice fine pair of Red Bellies at "Becky's Diner"!!!!

Now that they know where the good stuffs is, they'll be back....


A fun bird to watch......


....Dave

Congrats Becky! I have a red-bellied pair also.

Cool! In new house just over 6 weeks and we have downy's and Pileated woodpeckers. I was so excited!!

Congrats, Becky!!

gardenpom, that is a GREAT picture of the Red Bellies! Thanks for sharing.
Joyce

Thanks y'all for the congrats on my newest feeder visitors!

Dave - I haven't seen them today at all. (Of course, I have been working all day.) Once they find you, they return?

Gardenpom - Love your photo! Awesome shot!!!

nanny_56 - Ooooh, what a nice discovery at your new home!!! :-) :-) :-)

I have a question about your baffle.... is that on a 4x4 post???????? I have searched and searched for a baffle to put on a 4x4. Do you have any idea where you got it???

All I have been able to find is one to go on a round pole.

Thanks!!!

Hi daylily_ohio - I got my post baffle from BestNest:
http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=WDL-BAF3GR
You can do a internet search by using the phrase - "post baffle".
It's a bit pricey, but it is made of metal and looks like it will last a very long time. It was also very easy to mount. And best of all ..... It WORKS!!!! :-)

daylily_ohio, here are links to several styles suited for 4" x 4" posts.

http://www.duncraft.com/4-x-4-Inch-Post-Baffle-P406C6.aspx

https://www.bird-song.com/store/template/product_detail.php?IID=680

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9136&N=2005+113286

Thanks so much! DUH --- never thought of looking online.... just searched all over locally, and tried to make one several times. Currently have my post wrapped in metal, but still have the occasional raccoon that is large enough to jump up and grab the feeder that is mounted on the side of the post.

Your photo was the first time I have actually seen a baffle made for a 4x4!! YEAH!!! I'll be looking these up and ordering one in the morning! In fact, now that I know they are available, may just get two, and put up another post in spring. I need to get a new feeder made up. The feeder I have is about 20 years old, and is just falling apart. It has been a great feeder, and I want to have someone use it as a pattern and make a new one just like it, but a little large so it holds a bit more. It is mounted on the side of a tall 4x4. At the top of the 4x4 are some metal hangers that we hang suet feeders, etc from... but the hangers are to tall to lift feeders filled with sunflower seed from. So, the side mounted feeder is just right for this purpose. It's easy to clean and fill also. But, to have it close enough to the ground for me, at just five feet tall, to fill it, it is also close enough for the raccoons to jump up and grab it if they are big ones.

So, a baffle will be GREAT!!!!

Thanks so much!

daylily_ohio - Glad to help! Good luck with your feeder situation. If you look at my post feeder, I have 3 feeders actually on this one post. I don't really want to add anymore feeders to my yard unless they can be attached to this post. In all honesty, I could attach 2 more using the wrought iron arms that are mounted to the sides of the post. See this thread to view a full photo:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/690200/

The top feeder is removable. One of the great folks here actually drew up a plan for me to allow it to be a lift-off feeder. See this thread (middle to end of thread):
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/681289/

I do have to stand on a little stool to reach it to lift it off, but that isn't very often and I really like how the whole post feeder looks and functions. I've had all the local resident birds come every day to the feeders. They use them all.

Have fun designing your newest post feeder!

Nanny!!! PILEATEDs at your house! How cool is that! I've seen one in the woods next to my house. He came into my yard to bang his noggin' on some trees for the good part of an afternoon. I keep hoping he'll come back but haven't seen him. Everytime I hear a woodpecker that I just know is bigger than the downies, red-bellieds or red-headeds that I get frequently, I just know it's him again. So far, no luck! But having seen him once was AMAZING. Hard to believe how big they are. Almost prehistoric. God's really a show off when it comes to birds! He could have made them all black and white with the same song! That's why I love watching them. They're all so different.