I have both bird feeders and suet hanging from the awning over my patio for the many birds that are around. I live right next to a park so I see all kinds of birds in the area. One of my favorites are the little downy woodpeckers. They are so cute and have such funny jerky movements. One of my bird books says it's one of the tamest woodpeckers and I can certainly attest to that. The male not so much, but the female will let me get within feet of her. One day she was at the suet and the delivery man with the kerosene for my furnace stopped by. He walked right by her dragging the big hose behind him, filled the tank, and walked by her with the hose again and she just sat there the entire time.
The suet is actually hooked onto the drain pipe that's attached to the square metal supports for the awning. It always amazes me how they can land and cling to those metal supports. Sometimes if another bird is at the suet, they will land on a different support than the one where the suet is and wait for the other bird to leave. Sort of like lining up at the grocery checkout line. I've only seen the downys at the feeder once or twice, but if I hang up a block of seed, they go to that more readily. It's like they only really like the upright position they use on the trunk of a tree, and sitting at the feeder is uncomfortable for them.
The male has a spot of red on the back of his head, while the female does not. Here's the male on the metal pole where the suet is.
They don't usually land right on the suet either. They seem to always land on the pole and then sort of hop down to where the suet is.
This is the female on a block of seed.
I can count on seeing birds every day, but whenever I see the downys, they always make me smile.
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