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Downy woodpeckers at hummingbird feeders

11 years ago

Soon, it will be time to take the feeders down, due to the hummers leaving. The magic question is, should I leave them up until the freezing weather hits, or should I remove them before, so the peckers don't become somewhat dependent on them? I've gotten quite a kick from seeing them visit daily, and tag teaming each other out, when not being run off by a hummer ;)

This post was edited by tracey_nj6 on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 16:18

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Comments (11)

catherinet
11 years ago
Wow..........I've never seen that!
tracey_nj6
Original Author
11 years ago
I have never seen this in the 8 years (give or take) that I've had the feeders out, but this year, I have a quite a few of them, each and every day. I also have 3 birdbaths spread out around the house, which they never visit.
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no advice, just chiming in to say I'm jealous! If I saw a pileated wood pecker on my property I'd be thrilled. I hope you're successful in finding a suet feeder the squirrels won't monopolize. this is an interesting feeder, the pileated is enjoying it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXePlTk8sFg The long bottom looks like it's so they can brace themselves against it or stay steady (cause they're so BIG!) this one says that bottom is a 'kick stand'. They show a suet feeder that is 'somewhat squirrel resistant' ymmv http://wildbirdsunlimited.typepad.com/the_zen_birdfeeder/2010/04/bird-feeders-for-pileated-woodpeckers-think-big.html no ideas here, just a really cool video of one eating suet w/a view from above http://www.care2.com/causes/hungry-woodpecker-chowing-on-suet-video.html this lady had a good idea 'You have several options. Pileated tend to like tailprops. So, my suggestion is to baffle a tail prop from a tree with an erva disk (green). It has to be positioned 10 ft from the tree trunk, as squirrels can jump laterally 10 ft. It also has to be high enough that they will not jump from the bottom. When the squirrel attempts to go over it, the baffle will dump the squirrel to the ground. This will take a few times, but the tenacious little guy will give up and move on. Hope this helps.' the site her post is on http://community.birdsandblooms.com/forums/t/4063.aspx baffles seem to be the best bet. That was what was suggested to me earlier this year on this forum when I was having trouble with squirrels on my suet feeders. I ended up w/a cage-type suet feeder which isn't used as heavily as the reg. cage feeder, but the squirrels can't get to it, so it does work. Pileated are just too big to bother w/a cage I think. They say cayenne helps keep squirrels out of suet & birdseed. Years ago, I tried sprinkling it in w/dry birdseed but didn't see enough difference to continue. Also, the hot pepper can be dangerous to other wildlife. Maybe if you can find suet that has it added already, you could try? Good luck, it's great seeing them & having them on your property would be really cool!
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here anyway the orioles and tanagers eat the fruit best oranges and watermelon and apples. But the woodpeckers and grosbeaks do eat some. I use the regular grape jelly from the grocery store both the store brands and welch's jelly. I had several jars of homemade apricot jam in the pantry from last year and tried it and the birds enjoyed it. My orioles and tanagers have already left for the year headed south but the grosbeaks are still here and eat raisens and jelly the hummingbirds here leave out in september when it started frosting at night. I take down my necter feeders by the last of september. I was lucky this spring to have a pair of Lewis's woodpeckers fledge 4 young woodpeckers and they loved the jelly and watermelon and really devored the homemade woodpeker blocks made with sorgum and nuts and rasens and fruit bits. They have left recently but hope to see them in the spring. Our seasons here change earlier because of the higher elevations and mountains so we are probably way ahead of you in cool weather and frosts. which starts the summer birds on their way south.
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catherinet
11 years ago
Is that a downy or a hairy? Is it mostly those kind that come to your feeder? I hope they don't get their beaks stuck!

You have the same brand of feeder that I do. I like it because it doesn't have any yellow.......which really has cut down on bees being attracted to it and drowning.

Although....this is the first year ever that bumble bees are spending the entire day there! I wish they were out pollinating flowers instead! They are little piggies. Sometimes I think they might not even be able to take off from the feeder, they might be too fat! I told someone that I'm afraid they might get dia'bee'tes. haha

Back to your woodpeckers........I don't know if they're just being lazy or they don't have enough "natural" stuff to eat. I might be tempted to leave it up for awhile longer....... but I'm not sure! Good luck.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
11 years ago
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
catherinet
11 years ago
Thanks for that info, Claire. If I were a bug or a bird.......I'd find it pretty darned hard to pass up sugar water. :)
catherinet
11 years ago
DUH.........I just re-read the title of your post........Downy woodpeckers.
tracey_nj6
Original Author
11 years ago
LOL catherinet; it's hard enough to tell them apart, and my downy's have been looking a bit larger than usual (probably bulking up on the sugar water!!!), but the hairy's are noticably bigger. I only have a few hummers each year, but this is the first year that I'd ever seen a noticable drop in the sugar water level.

Initially, I thought I had discovered something new and different, only to Google it and find that it's quite common. Don't know why it's so common this year, at least at my feeders. Out of the blue.

I normally leave my feeders out until November, even though the hummers leave by mid September. I guess I'll just wing it.
tracey_nj6
Original Author
11 years ago
Although I still see them every day at the suet/seed cake feeder, they seem to have given up their need for the sugar water. As strange as it may sound, once the hummers left, the downy's stopped visiting that feeder...
surya55_gw
11 years ago
How fascinating- thanks for sharing your story!
catherinet
11 years ago
Hmmmm.....that's curious that they quit after the hummers left.

Maybe they were just doing it to tick off the hummers, and once they left, the thrill was gone. hahaha

I'm in central Indiana and haven't seen a hummer for several weeks. But unfortunately, the hummer feeders seemed to have been taken over by bees for quite awhile. I can't believe how many bees were always at the feeder. Today I'm seeing a butterfly there.
I guess lots of flying things like sugar water!
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
11 years ago
"Maybe they were just doing it to tick off the hummers, and once they left, the thrill was gone. hahaha "

I've noticed that when the hummers first leave the chickadees sometimes drink out of the center moat, looking around as if they're waiting to be dive-bombed. I've also felt that they were doing it to annoy the hummers.

Claire

edit note: Several times I've been sitting on the deck and got buzzed by a couple of chickadees - I swear they were giggling.

This post was edited by claire on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 17:53

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