Tag Archives: Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Monday – 5.29.2017

4:55 AM – The Red-bellied Woodpecker doesn’t usually feed at the platform feeder, but we’ve been seeing him everywhere this last month. He’s been at the mealworm feeder, the Squirrel Buster, the suet feeder, the platform feeder and even on trees, going right to the source for some live insects. What a bird.


From  yesterdays videos, these two win the prize for vivid color:


Carolina Chickadees, fast and furious session on the mealworm feeder. You’d think the food was going to disappear any second.

Friday – 5.26.2017

12:10 AM – Bruno the neighbor dog came by twice today – this is the second time. We didn’t know about it until we reviewed the ‘tapes’. Bruno really, really wants to come in our house.

Before we moved the mealworm feeder back in front of the camera, we found that most of the traffic at the Squirrel Buster feeder we recorded were Finches (and some Chickadees). Here’s a close up of a female House Finch cracking a seed and extracting the meat. They’re really adept with their beaks, these birds.

Now that the camera is back on the mealworms we’re starting to see some of the old, regular customers there, like this Red-bellied Woodpecker, the Bluebird, a Cardinal and a Chickadee. We get a lot more variety with mealworms than with the Squirrel Buster and it’s Black Oil Mixture.

Wednesday – 5.24.2017

2:51 AM – We wanted a little variety in the birds we’re recording, so we changed out the feeders in front of the cameras. The mealworm feeder was replaced with the small Squirrel Buster, and the suet feeder replaced by the Finch thistle sock. One of the first videos we got was of this Punk Red-bellied Woodpecker on the SB (Squirrel Buster) in the rain.

Here’s some activity at the Finch thistle sock. No finches, though, in spite of the name. We don’t have pure thistle in it, so it doesn’t seem to be appealing to them. Other birds like it though, including (in order) a Carolina Chickadee, a White Breasted Nuthatch, a wet Downy Woodpecker and, of course, a squirrel.

We finally got footage of the male House Finch. He likes the Squirrel Buster feeder, though he also shows up once on the platform.

Friday – 5.19.2017

4:57 AM – The Cardinals are still the most frequent visitors, in spite of the recent Blue Jay activity. They start eating early, and are usually the last ones we see on camera at the end of the day. Here’s some general Cardinal eating, drinking, bathing, making territorial displays etc.

This one started as an illustration of the size difference between the Mockingbird and others – the point being that the Mockingbird is bigger than I thought. But the video doesn’t really do a good job of showing that. I’m posting it anyway because 1) it’s done and ready, and 2) it’s got cool ‘freeze frame’ technique. These videos are done with iMovie. I’m still learning the software. Next on my list is split screen shots.

Nothing new about a squirrel hogging the feeder, but I liked these shots of a small one (presumably one of the crop born this year) helping himself.

Wednesday – 5.17.2017

1:23 AM – Mr. Cardinal, in a pugnacious mood, runs the Carolina Wren off the platform feeder. I guess he didn’t feel like sharing just then.

This should have gone on yesterdays mealworm feeder video. I’ll post it anyway, because any closeup of the Red-bellied Woodpecker is cool.

As a follow up to the previous video, here’s the Red-bellied Woodpecker enthusiastically eating those mealworms.

Monday – 5.15.2017

5:02 AM – Yesterday was an ordinary day at the Foodcourt. Here’s a few birds at the suet feeder, including that Mockingbird we were looking for yesterday. He’s followed by the Red-bellied Woodpecker and an acrobatic White Breasted Nuthatch.

Ordinary day with Cardinals at the platform feeder. A sluggish looking Mourning Dove shares the feeder with Mr. Cardinal for a bit.

Finally, an ordinary night with a cat prowling around.

Sunday – 5.14.2017

2:48 PM – Unexpected visit from our neighbor Bruno. Like all dogs, Bruno is infatuated with D.

3:43 AM – Typical day at the Suet Feeder: White Breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, in that order. I don’t know where the Mockingbird went.

The immature House Finches are still around. Here’s one at the platform feeder. I like the drab harlequin look. It takes longer for these birds to mature (like the bluebirds), than I thought it would.

Wednesday – 5.10.2017

5:21 AM – More scenes from the Suet Feeder. The usual woodpeckers show up, also an unexpected Blue Jay.

The bluebirds stick to the mealworm feeder these days. The immature ones have learned to feed themselves, and are big as the adults, but they still don’t have standard bluebird markings and colors. We’d thought it might be a case of delayed development (due no doubt to an excess of mealworms) but the experts online at the Cornell Lab say it’s not unusual length of time for birds to be at this stage. The markings are normal for the juvenile birds. The adult male shown here is probably delighted he doesn’t have to feed the kids anymore.

Monday – 5.8.2017

12:47 AM – Typical action at the platform feeder, with two of our most frequent visitors these days. First a little Blue Jay versus Blue Jay, then the Eastern Towhee. He’s also run off by a Blue Jay, though it happens so quickly it’s hard to see. He comes back, though. It’s been several days since we first spotted him, maybe he’s going to be a permanent resident.

We replaced the hummingbird feeder with one of the suet cages, making the change from HummerCam to SuetCam. There isn’t much hummingbird activity right now. Later this summer we expect clouds of hummers fighting each other like the Battle of Britain; we’ll move the feeder back in front of the camera then. In the meantime, here are a couple of woodpeckers tearing into the suet – first the Red-bellied, then a male Downy Woodpecker.

The Eastern Towhee has joined the Blue Jays, Cardinals and Sparrows as all-day, every-day visitors. I like the way he hops around when he feeds. Here, a Mourning Dove (another regular) watches him. Having an audience doesn’t seem to bother him.