I think you are right with the yellow-bellied sapsucker guess, and because of its size, it must be a young one. The fluffiness does make them look different! But the red on the crown and throat is there, the messy black and white on the back, and the white stripe down the side is there I think, although hard to see because of the fluff. I am only a very new backyard birder and used the Cornell Lab site to check this out. I hope I've been helpful!

Small update: I was out at dusk doing some last minute watering and debating on which pots to bring under the porch in case there was a light frost. I thought the little guy would've been asleep, but apparently my noises woke him up and he sat on the broken branch over his hole to watch me for a good 15 minutes, taking occasional flights over to some sycamores (he's flipping off pieces of bark, apparently for a before-bed snack). However, when he finally flew back into his nest, I could hear the chatter of TWO birds. Look's like he's found his significant other. Now I can't wait for the eventual little feathery fuzzballs in awhile. I'll try to buy a suet feeder this weekend if I can remember.

i live just outside of Durango Colorado and i have gambel oak brush outside the door. The acorn woodpeckers like the small acorns and pinyon nuts but also carry off corn and sunflower seeds. The Lewis Woodpeckers don't come often but i got a photo of a male this week. The flickers come through in the fall and spring back and forth to the mountains, and the downeys come in the snow storms of winter. I had a pair of scrub jays nest in the oak brush this year and they had 2 young ones whoi are regular visiters. Since we got a few snow showers i have dozens of Juncos and finches and sparrows daily.

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