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Woodpeckers and nuthatches gone..but where?

14 years ago

New member here.

Back in November I put up a new feeder in a tree on my front lawn, and filled it with sunflower seeds. The next morning birds came like you wouldn't believe. I was particularly excited to see downy woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches visiting regularly. This lasted about a month and now the woodpeckers and nuthatches never come around anymore.Chickadees don't come around as much either. Everyone else still visits, however. Goldfinches, cardinals, house finches, and the ever-so-common house sparrows.

Anybody have any idea why they don't come by anymore? Will they ever come back?

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Comments (5)

dzyg
14 years ago
When the weather warms up and their are insects available some Not all birds like just sunflower seeds either. Downy woodpeckers love suet, nuthatches too and nuthathes also love peanuts. My chickadees while they love sunflowers they also love peanut pieces that I have out for the Bluejays but mostly in the spring/summer months Dees eat insects out of the trees. If you want to attract more birds add different types of feeders. However you could just wait for winter when food is more scarce and they will probably come back.

Donna
feather_z9_ncacoast
14 years ago
I would suggest that they are nesting and raising their young on insect food instead of nuts, seeds, etc. They will be back, and they will bring their babies....just watch :)
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i am fairly new to birdwatching, but found it goes hand in hand with my obsessive gardening. i have a couple of simple suet feeders attached to a small oak tree about fifteen feet from my patio window and to date, i have a downy woodpecker,a pair of northern flickers and a pair of pileated woodpeckers. there is a rotting telephone pole along the road directly in front of my patio which i can see perfectly from my chair with binoculars. i see them all on it at some point during any given day. i think the flickers are nesting in there. i was sitting out having my morning coffee a few weeks ago when this huge black bird came to my suet feeder. at first i thought it was a pesky crow,and i was about to chase it off, but then i saw the white and red head and sat back down. i couldn't believe it;(i nearly soiled myself lol) right in front of me! now i see them frequently- they love suet. you cannot miss them if you use your ears; they have the loudest cackle around.
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You've come to the right place. I've had seven species of woodpecker in my yard, and they all love the suet log. I have a horizontal log and a vertical log. Put the log somewhere that squirrels can't get to it (like on a pole with a baffle) but near a tree so the woodpeckers feel comfortable. My woodpeckers are fairly picky and spoiled. I use Attractor peanut flavor suet. I use this year-round. It's really cute during nesting season because the parents will come fill up their beaks with suet to take back to the nest, and then the fledglings will come later. Here's what my setup looks like, and a few of my visitors: Pileated woodpecker: Northern flicker and downy: Yellow-bellied sapsucker: Red bellied woodpecker: Red-headed woodpecker (in the burr oak near the feeder): Very beat up spot on the oak tree where all the woodpeckers like to land before flying over to the feeder: And also the usual downies, hairies, plus nuthatches and chickadees. Put out your suet log, and the woodpeckers will come. -- Liz in Bloomington, MN Backyard weather and feedercam: http://www.overlookcircle.org Photo gallery: http://www.pbase.com/gymell/liz_favorites Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lizmstanley
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GoldfinchGuy
Original Author
14 years ago
dzyg, I actually have a tray filled with safflower seed and a tube filled with thistle. I have a nice suet feeder that my father in-law made for me, but the only ones who even go near it are the squirrels, unfortunately. Not sure why birds shun my suet feeder.

I'll try some peanuts though.
terrene
14 years ago
Golfinchguy, if you can find a source for it, consider putting up some raw suet, which is just plain beef fat chunks cut from the kidney area of cows. It attracts the woodpeckers like crazy - the suet cage with raw suet that hangs on the big oak tree is their favorite feeder by far. Oftentimes people buy the suet cakes at the store and some of these mixtures are not appealing to birds.

Raw suet has the added advantage of not being attractive to House Sparrows, or grey squirrels (every once in awhile I see a red squirrel eating some). Other birds like it too - Chicks, nuthatches, blue jays, and even the blue birds will eat some if I don't put out their favorite nuggets (Bluebirds get special feedings whenever I see them!). Starlings do like the raw suet too, but I only get a few of those in the winter.
GoldfinchGuy
Original Author
14 years ago
Terrene, I will definitely try the raw suet. I dont live far from a market that specializes in meats. Thank you kindly for your input. I may have also have spoken too soon about my suet as well, because not even 30 minutes after i read your post I looked out my kitchen window and saw the neighborhood blue jay- a bird I have only seen fleeting glimpses of until now- munching away at it. It was a commercial blend that contained chilli pepper. It so far has done great at deterring squirrels. For the rest of the day I watched for the jay's return, but only saw house sparrows visiting it. I hope he/she comes back!

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