suet | the eff stop

It was a glorious sunny 70+ degree day – perfect for Sunday Brunch at the Bird Feeder Buffet. this weeks special – suet served up to shy woodpeckers.

Woodpeckers are cautious and flighty. But, like most of my guests at the buffet, their appetite urges them onward in spite of their concerns. Interestingly, it seems that the females of the species are the trail blazers in this regard. If you want to know more about these feeders check out my post on feeding woodpeckers here.

The red-bellied woodpecker is a pretty good size bird, a little less than twice the size of a cardinal. It has the saddest call, but the sweetest expression. As new ones stop by the buffet, they always send a scout in first…

She decides that I’m no threat and digs in.

These feeders are perfect for woodpeckers. Very few birds have the ability to scale tree trunks, so with the exception of the nuthatches they have these feeders all to themselves.

She’s followed a few minutes later by her mister. He’s been here before, but is skittish and shy, so shy that he tries to sneak around the log instead of just scaling it like his mate. A lot more work for him, but it allows him a better field of vision.

On the other end of the buffer the downies are feeding. This female is a regular visitor and has almost no fear of me. I shot this from a rocker 6 feet from her.

Her mate was spotted at the buffet for the very first time yesterday at Sunday Brunch.

He very carefully checked things out…

And decided to go for the suet feeder instead.

We do our best to make our guests comfortable at the buffet, but sometimes a fella has to be prepared to eat and run.

In my post from yesterday I mentioned a woodpecker feeder. A friend told me about this feeder and it’s pretty simple and ingenious –
1. Take an old log, I used a downed cedar from my woods – drill 1 1/4″ holes about an inch deep around the surface. I specifically drilled the holes on a side that would face the spot where I shoot photos.
2. Attach it to something that will let it stand vertical like a tree – a fence post will do, I attached mine to the large cedar that holds up my pergola.
3. Fill the holes with suet. I also filled the cracks in the log.

My friend says it’s like a social program where you are giving a handout and making the little buggers work for it.

Here’s one of my feeders – nice and rustic…

Tonight Woody stopped by – first he landed on the top of the pergola .

He takes a look around to make sure the coast is clear – today he must have been really hungry because my Goldendoodle was sitting about 6 feet away from the feeder watching him.