Woodpeckers: Easy To Attract & Fun To Watch

Woodpeckers are a beautiful addition to any yard. With their unique feather patterns and bright red markings they are a favourite of many backyard birders. The size range of Woodpeckers is quite broad from the Downy at 6″ to the Pileated at just under 20″. I find listening to a Woodpecker’s call to be almost as rewarding as seeing the bird itself.

The best way to attract Woodpeckers to your yard is by offering peanuts and suet. Long cylindrical feeders that the birds can cling to just like a tree trunk are perfect for providing them with peanut halves. These feeders are inexpensive and will also be visited by Chickadees, Nuthatches, Bluejays, and Wrens to name a few. Check with your local feed retailer for these as well as the various designs for offering peanuts in the shell. Many different types of suet feeders are available too, but my preference is the upside down variety to keep the starlings from consuming all of your suet. Hanging any of these types of feeder works great and Woodpeckers can be quite tame so placing them close to your house will provide excellent views. Remember to hang your feeder in a location where squirrels cannot jump or lower themselves to it.

I have three types of feeders in my yard for attracting Woodpeckers and as a result have four species that frequent them. These species are; Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, and the Northern Flicker. Woodpeckers will visit almost any feeder with a seed mixture in it, but providing a specialty feeder with a supply of peanuts or suet is a great way to increase the variety you will attract and keep them coming back. If given the choice between a standard feeder and seed mix versus a specialty feeder and a supply of high energy peanuts or suet, they will pick the peanuts or suet every time.

Good birding,
Paul

No Time Like The Present For Spotting Kinglets

One of my favorite species of bird to photograph this time of year are Kinglets. With Warbler and Raptor migration having already peaked, and the winter species not overly abundant yet, with the exception of Juncos and Sparrows, I switch my attention to these colourful little birds. Both species of Kinglets; the Ruby-crowned, and Golden-crowned can be found in large numbers right now in our area.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a stocky, olive-gray coloured bird with bright yellow on its wings, distinct white eye ring and wing bars. Males are identified from females by their scarlet crown patch. The Golden-crowned Kinglet is slightly smaller than the Ruby-crowned and lacks the white eye ring. The real distinguishing feature is of course the golden crown for which it is named. Look for this yellow crown patch surrounded by black and a contrasting white eyebrow. Males have a small orange patch mixed in with the yellow.

golden - No Time Like The Present For Spotting Kinglets — **Golden-crowned Kinglet**

Both species of Kinglets are tiny birds with the Ruby- crowned being smaller than a Chickadee and the Golden-crowned not much bigger than a Hummingbird. Fortunately both species flick their wings and move almost constantly which gives their location away. The disadvantage of this is it makes photographing them extremely difficult. Patience is key because eventually a clear still shot will present itself.

ruby - No Time Like The Present For Spotting Kinglets — **Ruby-crowned Kinglet**

Kinglets primarily feed on insects, but at this time of year when insects can be scarce, they will consume the seeds of wild plants. My best advice to you right now if you are looking for Kinglets is to look low to the ground, particularly in Golden Rod fields with a mixture of shrubs surrounding them. Many of the city parks and Environmentally Significant Areas are loaded with Kinglets right now. Look for their almost constant wing movements, and shaking Golden Rod stalks as they fly from plant to plant. Another dead give away that Kinglets are in an area is their high pitched ascending songs and calls. Learn to identify their sound and locating them will be much easier. I mentioned in a previous blog post the All About Birds website where the various calls and songs of over 589 birds can be played. This is a valuable tool to any birder.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/golden-crowned_kinglet/sounds

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruby-crowned_kinglet/sounds

Good birding,
Paul

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Provide Your Backyard Birds With High Energy Suet

Suet is an excellent food to offer birds in your backyard. It is made up of beef fat and is a high energy, easily digested food especially valuable to birds in winter. Common backyard birds that readily eat suet are Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Wrens to name a few. Suet cakes are blocks of suet that are mixed with other ingredients such as corn, peanuts or fruit. Suet mixtures are also available in ball or bell form that can be hung anywhere and can be purchased at your local bird food retailer.

Providing suet cakes requires a special feeder. These range from larger wooden feeders with a built in tail rest for the larger species of Woodpeckers to small cages ideal for Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers. Either of these styles I like to hang from a tree branch because it is simple to do and the birds will find it quite quickly. Many of the hopper style feeders come with suet cages on either end.

Starlings are also big fans of suet. A group of these birds can devour a suet cake in less than a day. As a result my favorite way to offer suet is in a feeder that requires the birds to hang upside down. Starlings have a hard time hanging upside down and therefore will not be able to just sit and gorge themselves on your suet. Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Wrens have no problem hanging upside down so your feeder will attract the more desirable birds and your suet will last much longer. Make sure your feeder is hung high enough that Starlings can’t make repeated short flutters form the ground or a lower branch to your suet.

If you don’t already have a suet feeder in your backyard, talk to your local bird feed retailer and tell them you are interested in one. They will be able to provide you with a feeder and suet mixture that will work best for you. By offering suet you may just attract a couple of new species to your yard.

Good birding,
Paul