First things first!

. . . . . . . . . .so when I got home Wednesday evening I did two things important to me.

I cut a small bunch of the now blooming hydrangeas for the kitchen window sill, 

then headed to the potting shed to refill the empty bird feeders.  

Blues and greens of every hue from the same bush - they are such amazing

 flowers - and this year there are hundreds of blooms now opening on my

 four shrubs.

Ms. Woodpecker, the first arrival, came almost immediately after I hung

 the feeder in the late day sunshine.

These two small beautiful things outside in the garden took my mind

off my delayed bag. I worried all day yesterday that I would never see 

it again, then at 10:00PM last night a text message, a phone call, and

 a nice young man delivered it to my door.  Needless to say, I breathed

 a sigh of relief and thanks.

Woodpeckers and suet feeders . . . . . . . . .

Since the cold weather hit the large woodpeckers are here every day, 

all day, coming and going at the suet feeders.

Above and below - female Northern flicker - such a beautiful large bird (up to 12") 

who loves our suet feeders.

Male Flicker - note he has the black 'moustache'

Both male and female have the brilliant red spot on the nape of the neck.

This colorful garden bird is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a somewhat smaller

 8-9" medium-sized woodpecker. This is the male with the red chin - female has

a white chin.
An interesting bird, it drills holes in a pattern of horizontal rows in small to
 medium sized trees to bleed tree sap. Many birds drink from sapsucker taps,
 and oozing sap attracts insects which sapsuckers eat. 
The Sapsucker itself actually doesn't suck sap, rather it laps it with a long tongue.

Any woodpeckers in your garden lately?
Best wishes for the weekend - how on earth did the week go by so quickly!

They love suet feeders. . . . . . . .

I was surprised by this Northern Flicker - perhaps the younger of these two 

guys I viewed a couple of weeks ago HERE.

He waited on the suet feeder in this position for a very long time on Saturday,

 10 minutes or more, only leaving when I eventually opened the back door in hopes

 I could get better photos than these taken through the steamy windows.

Boy was it ever hot out there and the humidity awful!  Maybe he was just resting

in the heat, can't say I blamed him, it was like being in the jungle without the 

screeching monkeys.

Notice how some dastardly night visitor - raccoon perhaps - has already chewed

 up my NEW suet feeder, grrrrrrr!  The woodpeckers love these feeders as they can

balance their weight and size on the tail 'fin'. Other birds come too. . . . . . . many

 love suet and require fat in their diet for energy even in summertime. If you feed

garden birds you should do it year round.

Such a handsome bird. 

I hope your parents showed up and they took you away to a

 cooler spot for the evening hours.

Woody woodpecker prepares for Winter. . . . . . .

As I opened the blinds in the living room this morning, the first thing

that caught my eye was Woody, the red-bellied woodpecker.

He was extremely busy moving nuts and seeds from the bird feeder 

to crevices in the nearby crusty tree bark. Each short flight he alighted 

a few inches higher than the previous landing on the trunk, tucking

 his treasure into a ridge until he was high up the tree.

I went out later to check the situation but only saw a few empty

 seeds still stuck in the bark.

Could the squirrels have come behind Woody and stolen his stash?

Such are the wonders of nature.

Did you steal Woody's stash?

Heaped on the ground, the last of the fig tree leaves have fallen in grey crinkled piles.

They are not pretty - in fact Bob says they look like old women's winkled faces!

That hurt!!!

Forgive the somewhat unsharp pictures - my windows definitely need cleaning!
 Another addition to the ever growing to do list as the Christmas holidays approach!

A Woodpecker By Any Other Name. . . . . . .

Don't you agree she's beautiful? 

Introducing Ms. Northern Flicker.

This morning she arrived early along with some much-needed sunshine

to light up her colorful feathers. Fortunately my camera was ready although 

again I had to shoot through the windows, just too cold to step outside.

Yesterday I managed to catch Mr. - he's in one somewhat blurry photo

 on my previous post - you will note his handsome mustache. Always exciting to 

know there are a pair of specific birds living in the garden - I just know 

baby Flickers must be adorable and perhaps we'll see them come Spring.

Notes on the Northern Flicker from the field guide -

• Size:      12" - non-migrator in the Carolinas
• Male:      Brown and black woodpecker with large white rump patch visible only when flying. Black necklace above speckled breast, red spot on nape of neck, black mustache 
• Female:   Same as male, but lacking mustache
• Nest:       Cavity, female and male excavate, 1 brood per year, 5-8 white eggs
• Food:      Insects

 

The Northern Flicker is the only woodpecker to regularly feed on the ground, 

preferring ants and beetles. Guess those creepy crawlies are currently 

unavailable with ice still blanketing the garden. Our suet feeders are the next best 

thing on a bitterly cold morning such as today.