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

When you all talk about suet, do you mean the packaged gooey stuff that goes in the square green wired baskets, or the bell-shaped thingy with seeds all over it? Or something enrirely different?? Terrene, what is a log? Can you post a picture of what you all are talking about? Oh, and I did see the woodpecker yesterday evening, but not at my feeder. He (actually she) was flying from one tree to another. It was funny watching her. On the tree she stopped at, she landed on the trunk and hopped backwards (down the trunk) and then after a little pecking, hopped back upwards.

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

I love watching them do their back and forth movement as they move up the post...We also have Red bellied woodpecker who visits, too! Wonderful photo, Marnie! Juanita