Keeping my fingers crossed!

Hoping its a Hairy, maybe a young one?

Two more pics coming.

Another

last one

This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 6:20 PM

Yep, Hairy Wp., the bill is fairly large and stout, relative to the head size.

The red is on the back of the head, which makes it an adult male (on juvs., the red is on the forehead, while adult females don't have any red on the head).

Resin

So GREAT!!! I have seen the juvies then.

This is the 5th type of WP I've seen in my yard.

Thank You!!

Great news Helen!

Thanks Terry!

I saw the juvenile earlier but didn't have the camera ready. They really love the suet log.

Ohhhh, enjoy them! Lucky you!
Lovely images!

Nice going Pell, I got lucky my self with Hairy Woodpeckers this evening.
Had to edit text because, I attached the wrong picture. A male Hairy Woodpecker, at the entrance to the nest cavity. DeLong Lake Park, Anchorage, Alaska 6/13/2007. The nest tree is beside the paved pathway, between the parking lot and the fishing dock. A vary high activity area!

This message was edited Jun 14, 2007 12:56 AM

A female Hairy Woodpecker feeding a young one, at the entrance to the nest cavity. Notice the baby's head looks larger than the female's head. The birds didn't pay any attention to people near the nest, but they went wild, if a dog was in the area. Only the male has the red marking on the back of the head.

Junior has been squawking for a meal, but ducks back inside if I move. It looks like he is nearly ready to leave the hollow tree for good.

This is a male Downy Woodpecker. He landed in the bushes next to me, on Sunday, while I was taking picture of newly hatched ducklings. Both species of woodpeckers were new additions to my "digital check list". You would think he could have chosen a more artistic back ground for his portrait.

Congratulations Pell! You got some great pictures there! Is your grackle situation lessening up a bit? It looks like you found a gold mine in that suet log.

Nice pics grass!

All great pics!

Thanks Everyone. There was a whole family of them. I was sitting on the deck and they would actually fly underneath the covering of the deck overtop my head and make a U turn back to the suet log. It was great fun watching them and the log has gotten a lot more attention now that I put it in a location away from the other feeders.
The log is messy to fill but obviously worth it.
The Grackle situation continues but I try to scare them away as much as possible as it seems everyone including the red bellied woodpeckers are afraid of them.

Nice pics Gras!

Thanks for sharing the images, pell & Gras. Woodpeckers are a special treat.

Pelletory... I share in your joy, my friend! I just got back from lunch and while I was home, I filled all my feeders, replinished the suet cake feeder, mealworm feeder, hummingbird feeders, etc. (I've been leaving the seed feeders alone to try to prompt the cowbirds to head somewhere else to eat) and saw something hopping across the yard and jump on a small tree trunk... there, feathers all ruffled and new, maybe 3 inches long, a baby hairy woodpecker. I walked over for a better look, got about 6 inches from the Rose of Sharon tree he was climbing and heard mommy woodpecker squawk at me to get the heck away from her baby! So cute! What a blessing.

This message was edited Jun 15, 2007 2:31 PM

This message was edited Jun 15, 2007 2:36 PM

They are sweet! I'm having a good time watching the downy and hairy family. Their quite brave too.

The only down side to having another suet feeder out is it brings more Starlings w/ their kids in so I've been pulling the log feeder in and out to try and conserve.
I've also been buying regular square suet and rolling it into log shapes myself (with wax paper). Its less expensive than buying the log shape and then I can buy it anywhere as opposed to just the bird shop.
This can really get to be an expensive hobby especially when your first starting out and don't know too much but thats the great thing about having a forum, we get to bounce our ideas and experiences off one another to see what works best.
Hey I see a little sun peeking through the clouds, gotta grab the camera.

Have you ever tried making your own suet, Pelletory? Messy, but lots cheaper. And prob. better quality stuff than most places sell.

As soon as I make more meals for the DH,haha! I definitely want to make the no melt type.

Heres another pic I just grabbed of one of the sweeties.

Baby WP says "I'm cute!" Yes he/she is! :)

I get a kick out of the red bellied woodpecker babies I have around my yard.... I know I've seen at least 4 babies this season and they come flying in to the suet cake feeder screeching like their momma or daddy, only an octave or so higher... like they're really mean... so funny.

Oh I'd love to see some young RBW's around. They must be here as I have plenty of adults.
Here's a rare sighting of one at the suet feeder just now, mine definitely prefer the peanut silo.

>Judy steps back to allow Resin to blow a gasket

hahaha (Judy).

It's okay Resin. I'll have to look at that feature each time they come up. I have so many here I can't keep track of them at all.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Just now did see a Hairy at the log (going by the tail ID and using a pair of binoculars).

Blasted dark weather, I'll get a pic another time.

Thanks again.