Maureen, those photos are stunning! I just LOVE the last one...with every red feather in her crest standing straight up! The detail is amazing! We have a pair around here, but I've never had one of them come to the birdbaths. I've been really trying to entice my birds back, and yesterday, I put out new feeders and fresh food. Shortly afterward, I had a pair of mourning doves feeding on the ground under a feeder, and they hadn't been there 2 minutes when out of nowhere, one of my resident red-shouldered hawks shot down to try to nab one. He missed, but then he flew to the top of my Bali hut and wouldn't move. I finally had to aim a jet of water at him to chase him off. Five minutes after he left, the doves were back, and a pair of cardinals, as well. Plus, I have a CATBIRD eating SEED at my feeder now! I've never seen that before in all my birdwatching years. You just never know what you are going to see when out in your garden, do you? Our little attempts to create a private spot of nature often succeed beyond our expectations. Thanks for sharing. These might be my very all-time favorites of your bird pictures. Marcia

i am fairly new to birdwatching, but found it goes hand in hand with my obsessive gardening. i have a couple of simple suet feeders attached to a small oak tree about fifteen feet from my patio window and to date, i have a downy woodpecker,a pair of northern flickers and a pair of pileated woodpeckers. there is a rotting telephone pole along the road directly in front of my patio which i can see perfectly from my chair with binoculars. i see them all on it at some point during any given day. i think the flickers are nesting in there. i was sitting out having my morning coffee a few weeks ago when this huge black bird came to my suet feeder. at first i thought it was a pesky crow,and i was about to chase it off, but then i saw the white and red head and sat back down. i couldn't believe it;(i nearly soiled myself lol) right in front of me! now i see them frequently- they love suet. you cannot miss them if you use your ears; they have the loudest cackle around.

Hitching down a tree trunk is common for woodpeckers. They usually do that to move short distances downward, especially while foraging. However, if the distance is great, say the bird wants to move from the top of the tree to the base of the trunk, it will usually fly down. However, in flight, woodpeckers are more vulnerable to predators, by remaining on the tree trunk and hitching down, they can easily duck around the other side of the tree to avoid a predator. BN

Thanks for the comments. It is a mother Pileated and her 3 babies (although they look almost as big as her! lol). There is a state wildlife area near us, so I've had the Pileated's visiting for the 15 years I've lived in this house. Ron, I make my own suet... pour it into a wax paper lined cake pan, let harden and then cut into 8 cakes. I don't follow the recipe exact, some days there is more of one thing and less than another, but the birds like it anyhow. You can add raisins and other things if you like. 1 lb. Lard 1 lb. Crunchy Peanut butter Melt those two together over low heat in a large pot, then add the following: 2 cups wheat flour 3 cups cornmeal 3 cups oatmeal (regular, not quick or instant)