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

I would wager, there are plenty around. Red bellies are very common in my part of the state. We usually have 3 pairs hanging around our feeders. Downies are the most common; hairies are rarer. Flickers are common, but we can't seem to draw them in. Pileateds and red heads are the rarest---although I had a horde of the red heads attacking my fruits last year. While we have loads of white breasted nuthatches, red bellied nuthatches have been like your red bellied woodpeckers. We've only seen one at a time.

don't know about your woodpeckers but i have a pair of lewis's woodpeckers who have nested here last 3 years. i also have lots of orioles and i put out fruit and jelly and watermelon for the orioles, the young Lewis's love the jelly and watermelon and eat lots of fruit and they come back every year. i also have downeys and hairys and flickers that use the same feeders as the Lewis's

The major bullies at my feeders are the mockingbirds. I have one who comes by now and then just to perch on one of the feeders and run off any other birds who attempt to land, and he's not even interested in the food that's that feeder! However, last fall I witnessed a "Gun Fight at the OK Corral"---a face off between the mockingbird and the red-belly over a platform feeder with lots of good nuts, fruit and seeds. After a lengthy stare-down, the red-belly won the day--the mockingbird capitulated and flew away.