Tag Archives: Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Saturday – 12.2.2017

2:46 AM – This is a long clip – about three minutes – of the action on one of our ‘satellite’ feeders. It’s a Squirrel Buster stationed away from the deck out in the yard. The video was taken with our new camera, so the quality of the video is a little better than that of the security cams.

There are several parts. In approximate order of appearance are Sparrows, White Breasted Nuthatch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, House Finches. The last clip is a dance between a House Finch and Sparrow, around the feeder.

To balance the previous lengthy video, we present a short clip of our new resident, the Eastern Phoebe. We hadn’t seen one for a couple of weeks, but it looks like they’re here to stay, for a while. This one (or more) are carrying off mealworms, I assume to nesting mates or chicks.

Tuesday – 11.21.2017

12:27 AM – This is the first time we’ve seen one of these, and we’ve tentatively ID’ed it as an Eastern Phoebe. The video is choppy because our camera started ‘pixilating’, and we had to edit it. The Cornell Labs website says they can be winter migrators or permanent residents here in Alabama. It also says they’re from the Flycatcher family of birds, who usually eat insects and so are not often seen at feeders. These seem to like the mealworms pretty well.

More from the Archives. This was recorded in November 2016.

Wednesday – 11/1/2017

3:40 AM – We get more suet feeder traffic in cold weather – it’s in the 50’s, a little chilly for Alabama in October. In order of appearance: Pine Warbler, Purple Finch, Bluebird, White Breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker. I’m surprised we didn’t see a Cardinal and Chickadee in the lineup.

The other morning, around 4:30 AM, we had a raccoon visit. We were sitting right inside, but didn’t hear anything. If we have to have varmints, I’d rather have the coon than the possum. I prefer the bushy ringed tail to the possum’s naked rat tail.

Monday – 10.30.2017

2:53 AM – These Purple Finches, and the Cardinal, try to claim their spot at the feeder. Actually, not the Cardinal, who doesn’t pay much attention to the smaller birds.

Red-bellied Woodpecker snacking on suet. At the end of the clip the back door opens and he takes off, with a piece of suet in his beak. That part is in slow-motion with a freeze frame.

Friday – 9.22.2017

12:01 AM – We moved the mealworm feeder in front of a camera, so we’re getting videos of all those birds that really like mealworms. In this case, it’s bluebirds, young and adult, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Sparrows are not as numerous around here, at this time of the year. I’m not sure exactly which kind this is. I’m calling it a White-throated Sparrow, but it could be some variety of Song or House Sparrow.

Friday – 9.15.2017

12:43 AM – The Red-bellied Woodpecker really dominates the feeder when he’s around. He actually pecks the other birds, instead of ‘displaying’ or feinting.

The Cardinal seems unperturbed by the doves he shares the feeder with, though he keeps a wary eye on the ones that get too close. I’m happy to see his post-molting feathers seem to be coming in nice and bright.

Tuesday – 9.12.2017

12:02 AM – A couple of Blue Jays, peacefully feeding together, get evicted from the feeder by a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I don’t blame them – I’d get out of the way too. The Red-belly doesn’t stay long, and the Jay returns, after taking a good look around.

We’ve got a cardinal, a purple finch, a bluebird and what looks like a couple of goldfinches in the background, all at the same time.

Wednesday – 9.6.2017

12:58 AM – Every now and then D likes to set out some luxury food for the birds, in this case, some peanuts. A White Breasted Nuthatch spots them, and gets the jump on the other birds. He manages eight trips to the feeder, one after another, carrying away a peanut each time. Eventually other birds caught on, and the Great Peanut Grab was over.

The camera is back up on the cylinder feeder, just in time to catch these two varieties of woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker is first, then the Red-bellied. The size difference is really apparent here.

Friday – 9.1.2017

2:32 AM – This is very strange. It starts with a Red-bellied Woodpecker bullying a Mourning Dove on the platform feeder. Nothing unusual about that – the Red-belly is big and aggressive with a really strong, sharp beak. What happens after that is weird. The woodpecker is sitting on the feeder when something comes out of the sky and attacks him. It happened so fast that I can’t be sure what it is, but I suspect it was a hawk. The video is frozen at the moment the woodpecker gets away.

A few minutes later I saw the Red-belly back on the feeder, so I guess he’s alright. But he was very very vigilant.

The videos on this website are edited with Apple iMovie software. We usually keep it pretty simple, just cutting the raw material down to the  high points, and adding some transition ‘cross dissolves’. In this video we’re experimenting with adding a sound track. The birds in the video are the horde of Grackles that invaded a few months back. The music is John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”.