Watching Downys

Date: November 18, 2007
Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Location: The backyard of our home in the upstate New York city of Rochester.

“Downy came and dwelt with,
Taught me hermit lore;
Drilled his cell in oaken tree
Near my cabin door.

Downy leads a hermit life
All the winter through;
Free his days from jar and strife,
And his cares are few.”~ from The Bird Lovers’ Anthology

Bird Species/Markings/Features: One male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). I could identify it by the bright red plumage on the back of its head, rather than the black feathering which would signify it's being a female.

Sights/Sounds/Activities: Over the course of 45 minutes the bird would hop down the side of the tree onto the suet feeder, peck for a short time, then retreat back up the trunk to the large branches, where it would hop about the nearly naked treetop.

Notes: For the past three weeks, we have been attempting to lure more Downys into our back yard by using frozen suet (animal fat)purchased from our local supermarket and cut while frozen into the shape of the cage suet feeder(see pic below). My mother had recommended this as an alternative to the suet composites (with peanut butter and other ingredients) that we were purchasing rather frequently form the local bird store. This composites would more often than not ed up being eaten by the squirrels, who until very recently did not bother with the animal fat.

It took a while for the suet to be attract the attentions of the local birds, but it has of late seemed to be something of a hotbed for Downy Woodpecker activity. I could watch these peaceful, seemingly solitary birds, all day...