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Monday, March 8, 2010

Woody Woodpecker And Friends

What a great weekend! Even though I had to work on my second job (posting content to an equine website, Equisearch.com) for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, I was still able to work in some quality time with Eric, some horsey time at the barn and some gardening time.  Housework, not so much...

Since I had to get up early to work I sat in the breakfast nook for a while, drinking coffee and gearing myself up to get started. Suddenly, I saw a quick flash of red outside. As I watched, I saw it was my friend, Woody Woodpecker, (original name, huh?) a Red-bellied Woodpecker who often wakes me up on weekends if I'm not quick enough getting food out for him.  He's usually one of the first, if not the first, bird to arrive at the buffet line of my fence, where I sprinkle feed for them.  

On Saturday, however, he was checking out the suet feeder, since I had just put a fresh one out there the night before.

 

He hung around, literally, for a while posing for photographs and pecking at bugs before disappearing into the tree next door.
 

On my second cup of coffee, I again caught some movement out of the corner of my eye.  At first I thought Woody was back, but it was a different woodpecker this time, a Downy Woodpecker.



Downy Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers are very similar in appearance, and I had to consult this page in order to confidently identify this little guy as a Downy.


The Downy Woodpecker's bill is much shorter than that of the Hairy and they are smaller. 



I was excited to see this little guy, I hadn't seen one before.  He even stayed around when I stepped outside and sat on the patio to drink my coffee.  He was really into that suet feeder!

Which reminds me, I need to add that to the shopping list...


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

7 comments:

Kyna said...

I love the Downys!! I was lucky enough to get one last year. He hasn't been back this year yet, but I'm hoping that he will. The red-bellieds have such perky personalities. I always have to go to the window when I hear one chattering on the feeder... :D

Kathleen Scott said...

You had coffee with the neighbors. :-)

Great pix. It's hard to catch a woodpecker.

We eat breakfast with the sparrows daily. Makes my cereal better.

Jayne said...

The red-bellieds always get me up on the weekends too, Kyna. I hope your Downy comes back this year.

Thanks Kathleen, I love having coffee and breakfast with my neighbors :-) I've got a picture of the red-bellied on the fence before, but usually he's too high up in the tree for me to catch him. The suet feeder helped keep them in my "sights", lol.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

What fun to see 2 kinds of woodpeckers in one day! I enjoyed your photos.

I am so ready for spring to arrive in my parts. We had some snow and rain today. It may turn back to snow yet tonight. Saturday's 57 didn't come back, but we could see them again in a few days.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I just read my comment. "Them" meant 50 degree temps.

Jayne said...

Hi Sue -- I've been seeing your snowy photos and I bet you're ready for spring. Will you believe it was almost 70 degrees here today? (you probably don't want to hear that!)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Well, at the moment, it felt kind of good to hear about the 70 degrees. It gives me hope that it will arrive here eventually. I'll be watching for more photos of your border.