My bucket list bird here. I've seen one 2-3 times in my life. Ill trade you a flock of house finches for a bluebird or two. Ill even throw in some titmice.
Put the suet feeder up the other day. First cake almost gone. I enjoy watching the acrobats of the nuthatches. Not a bird you'll see on a Hallmark card, but very entertaining to see it go upside down. I have to extend it out a bit. Seems the titmice are hitting the window at an alarming rate and startle Ms. buZZsaw during the day.
Im working on a garage roof this morning when I hear a woodpecker song in the clump of Norway maples right next to me. I watch for a few seconds to locate the bird and see it descend into a rotten void on the tree and peck away at the punky wood obviously foraging for ants or grubs less than 20' away. I didn't recognize what it was as it looked like an oversized downy with a red throat. Turns out to be a yellow bellied sapsucker. Cant say I've ever seen one before. I've scrounged plenty of logs with their pecking evidence. They love fruitwood.
Orange-ish Mohawk on those birds. We get them at the suet blocks. They can hammer away at them like the smaller birds can't. Cool birds.
They're pretty birds, but they don't visit for pleasure. They're full time hunters. We have Red Tails and Golden Eagles here and they have huge appetites, especially when they're nesting. This guy visited us today.
Put a suet feeder out on Wednesday and all the birds ignored it for seed. Then yesterday afternoon I saw a red bellied woodpecker o it, which is always cool to see!
The only time I've ever gone thru suet cakes that fast was when squirrels were able to get to it. I've had years where birds didn't touch suet and preferred seed cakes instead. I don't put out a lot of food at one time (it is easily gone by afternoon). Kind of like my cats, one day they love the canned food I get, then when I get a bunch, they turn up their noses and want a different flavor/brand - LOL.
There seems to be a flock of bluejays that have decided to pay my feeders long daily visits. We'd see one, once in a while. I hope they move on and let the more favorable birds have access to the feeders. I only put out sunflower seeds in tube feeders, and seed/suet blocks.
My backyard was full of robins today. There were easily more than 50 of them. I'm guessing they migrate? And my yellowbelly sapsucker seems to be back for the winter. I'm waiting for the starlings to make a return, I need some target practice.
Robins - gone Starlings - gone Grackles - gone Lots of woodpeckers on the suet blocks. Hairy, snowy, and red-bellied.
I put out 2 seed cakes on Thursday and today was the first day we've seen any birds on either one of them. When these seed cakes are gone, I'm putting suet in one and a seed cake in the other.
A lot of robins migrate, some stay year round. I've had years 1 or two stayed. I know people on the coast are more likely to have robins year round. Makes sense with it being warmer there. That is the reason I equate red winged blackbirds with the arrival of spring - they definitely don't stick around for winter. I saw some sort of woodpecker yesterday. I think it was a Downy, but it could have been a Hairy. I can barely see thru binoculars any more (either set), and the feeders are 40-50' away. I just get a general sense unless it is something that stands out like the red bellied woodpecker.
