This year, I took down the seed feeders but left up suet and nut feeders for woodpeckers and other nut-loving birds, and I have been generously rewarded with many fun observations. I noticed yesterday that my neighborhood downies are still coming to the hummingbird nectar to drink!
Downy Woodpeckers are now being followed to the feeder by fluffy young and I am hoping that the Red-bellied pair and the Hairy Woodpecker pair will soon be showing up with their young tagging along, too. Wouldn't that be a treat--to see a Hairy juvenile!
I have had Hairy Woodpeckers come to the winter feeders in the past, but have never spotted them in the breeding season until now. Like our other backyard woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers don't migrate but stay near their territories throughout the year. Until now, it was unknown to me if the male Hairy I was seeing actually had a mate and was nesting in the area. Two days ago, I spotted a female at the feeder!
In the image below, you can see the enormous size of the Hairy's bill, approximately the same length as the width of his head. He also has the distinctive comma mark that extends to his breast and no lateral stripes on his tail. To recognize him, you also have to keep in mind his size--closer to the red-belly's size than the size of a downy.
My time and energy is currently concentrated on my book project which has a nearing deadline. The book is focused on birds, of course! My observations of birds, bits of life history for each highlighted species, and stories and history about each bird from the pioneer ornithologists that first discovered and recorded bird species in Tennessee are all included in the book. The Tennessee Ornithological Society, the care-taker and creator of Tennessee's bird history, is celebrating 100 years of bird study and enjoyment this year, making it the oldest conservation organization in Tennessee.
The book will be printed in full-color so I can generously illustrate it with my own watercolors along with many historic illustrations and photographs.
If you haven't already subscribed to this blog, you will find the email subscription form at the top of the right-hand sidebar. Once done, the next blog post will be delivered to you by email. This is a great way to be alerted to a new blog post and to keep up-to-date on the book's progress!
Links and Resources:
Sketch Book--Red-shouldered Hawk Territory
Discover Birds Activity Book
Discover Birds Blog
Watercolors of Birds
Detail of "Hummer and Downy"
I looked up from the blue jay in the previous post and found these two beautiful juvenile downies hanging from the feeder together. 
As you look at the images that follow, you will see the one on the left plunged her beak into the suet cake so eagerly that it came back coated in dough. She made a few attempts to peck at the dough afterward but then began to look a bit bewildered. 
"Okay, I'm headed for a good ole tree trunk to get this mess off my nose!" 
Meantime her buddy had the feeder to herself for a few minutes before she too flew to the tree. In this image you can see her juvenile belly speckles more clearly.
This was one of those moments. There were so many birds 
But not before pausing to take it all in and give me these lovely poses. 
My, I think she's hungry! Or maybe this is her dessert attitude.
Both a male and female downy visited my feeders during the winter. I could see them come to the feeder together, sometimes even notice them approaching, tree by tree. But the best photo I could manage was the female with one eye peeping around the feeder!
Yesterday, I sat a chair outside with the idea in mind of sketching a tree. A tree will be still, I thought. But it wasn't the tree that was the problem.
No sooner had I returned to my sketch when I heard a faint, "tap, tap, tap". I sat very still, uncertain where it was coming from. Again, "tap, tap, tap." Just over my shoulder a few feet away, I found a male downy tapping on the branches of a dogwood.
Now still, he was not. Not for a minute. But he was so close, it made me giggle. And he stayed long enough for me to take several images as he scooted around the limbs, going about his business. Tap, tap, tap.
He even showed me the back of his head.
And if you look closely, in some of the photos you can see the spots on his outer tail feathers. Hairy woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers look very much alike, except the hairy has a larger bill and is slightly larger in size. But according to Peterson's field guide, if you are close enough to see them, the spots on the outer tail feathers also set them apart. The hairy's tail feathers are all white with no spots.
