The Birds

[MCG1]

Hand fed a downy woodpecker yesterday. First time ever for a woodpecker. He was almost as friendly as the chickadees.

[Micanopy]

Pileated woodpeckers can really hammer. I had one destroying rafters on a porch. Wood boring bees had gotten in there and he was after the larva. Had an old dead tree and they came to visit it pretty often. If you sat still they came very close and you could develop some respect for how hard they hit.

In the swamps there used to be an “Oh My God” bird. The Ivory Bill Woodpecker. Named so because anytime someone saw one, they would say….. that exact phrase. Much larger than the pileated, but very similar in appearance, white bill not black, and now unfortunately extinct we fear.

Woodpeckers are interesting. I have seen them on telephone poles. Not eating bugs, rather using them as resonators. They drum out territorial announcements so other pairs do not encroach. I have seen them drumming on metal objects attached to the poles as well. They have an extra special fluid lining surrounding their brains. This cushions the organ otherwise it would splatter as they hammer away. Humans do not have this special lining so please don’t try to mimic the woodpecker. Just get an axe if you want some grubs.

[Ketchn]

we love our pecker woods , our largest visitor is a red breasted and there might be 2 of them , they are super duper shy though.
one thing for sure they have some rock and roll coloration going on
lately one of them has become a bit more friendly and "talks" to me from a distance without the instant see ya later thing going on we always see from them .
brownheaded cowbirds showed up this week for the first time ever ,we about never see them in the city
and there has been quite a bit of bla bla bla from close range when I replenish the food sources lately as well .
one little tiny something er other that is slightly yellowish green was about to get really friendly last night on the refill .

[Redge]

It does look like a nuthatch, Redge, but a little lighter than the ones we have up here. I love to watch them moving up and upside down.
Bob

Yep it’s a nuthatch. Lightest colored one I have ever seen.


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[Redge]

so redge what is it ? asking for a friend ....

Nuthatch, only one I’ve seen that lightly colored.


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