Claysmom, perhaps your son would be interested in making his property a Certified Wildlife Habitat? This is easier than most people might think. You just need to provide food, shelter and water for various types of animals. You can Google it and read all about the requirements online, and even print out an application for the official certification. Nicki's city yard is certified, so even those without rural property can qualify. I encourage everyone who is interested to check it out. (If I can managed to stay on the computer long enough, I'll see if I can find the link, but I'm having some unanticipated difficulties from my foot surgery, and won't be here very long.) Glad you guys enjoyed seeing this old post pop up again. I do love these birds, and am happy it was of interest to you. Marcia

Thanks Angie. I will indeed photograph more often. I set the tripod and camera in my kitchen sink and the feeder is maybe nine feet away. The birds are becoming more and more trusting of me. When I go outside in the morning to fill the feeder (sunflower hearts) there's singing and more and more birds are venturing closer to me... especially a Downy woodpecker. He will allow me to get near the feeder when he's on the railing before he flies off. Of course I enjoy greeting him and the other birds with a simple: "hello guys" or "good morning guys" One question I have is the use of capitalization when talking about birds. I'm very well versed in trees/etc- What is correct with birds, i.e.: Northern Cardinal or Northern cardinal White-breasted Nuthatch or White-breasted nuthatch The "common names" of trees are always lower case, i.e. fir, spruce, maple, oak, etc- Never Oak or Maple, etc- Many thanks guys and gals! Dax

Nice!..Looks like that pine is in need for clean up.

I'd never heard of this but it's mentioned on Cornell's All About Birds website in the section on Food. "Downy Woodpeckers are common feeder birds, eating suet and black oil sunflower seeds and occasionally drinking from hummingbird feeders." I also found a nice reference: Birdlife: Woodpeckers stick out their tongues for nectar. "A woodpecker's unusually long tongue is mainly an adaptation to find and capture insects. After drilling a hole, a woodpecker sticks its tongue into the hole and explores for insects. The sticky barbed tip of the tongue helps capture and remove insects. Woodpeckers also explore cracks and crevices (and sometimes hummingbird feeders) with their sensitive tongues." I'd leave the feeders up until it gets really cold in case some late migrating hummers come through. The downies are probably enjoying a sweet snack in addition to their normal diet. Claire