LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sharing the Suet

Every now and then, we will see a small bird on one side of the suet feeder remain there when another bird flies to the other side. They often cannot see one another because of the suet cakes. On this particular morning I caught a Downy and a Chickadee sharing the suet. Both sat there eating away. Guess Christmas is indeed a season of sharing.



Although most other birds clear out when this lovely lady appears, I have no doubt she would be happy to share as well. Of course, there's not much room for anyone else.

Note the condition of our suet feeder. No one has ever seen squirrels do such damage to this brand of feeder. It has a lifetime guarantee, so if it gets chewed to the point that it will no longer hold suet, Wild Birds Unlimited will give us a new one.
By the way, the squirrels still have not figured out how to beat the baffle my husband made. But that doesn't stop them from trying.

16 comments:

George said...

Beautiful pictures. Betsy has had birds sharing her suet, but we've never seen a woodpecker as being one that did the sharing. We have seen woodpeckers and other birds sharing other feeders, however.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Wouldn't it be something to see your pileated and an itty bitty chickadee feeding together?

Have you shown us you hubby's baffle? I'd like to be able to make one that works. I've bought two but they're kind of expensive.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Good morning Carolyn. Is it cold in Carolina today??? We've got a whopping FIVE degrees this morning. Brrrrrr.... Poor Birdies. I put out some extra goodies this morning.

Love the picture of your Pileated. I haven't seen any recently--but we still have our Red- bellied.

Great Pictures..
Hugs,
Betsy

Melissa Weisbard said...

It is amazing how much damage a squirrel can do to a feeder.

Anonymous said...

Pileateds are big birds! I saw one for the first time this summer and was really surprised.

Cicero Sings said...

We have a regular pileated woodpecker visit too. I bought my feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited but my squirrel isn't as ambitious as your own! We had one squirrel ruin a seed feeder trying to get at the seeds but it was just a cheap feeder. Our current squirrel, for the time being, seems satisfied with the sunflower seeds the birds drop. It actually made an appearance yesterday as it warmed up to -12 C (10F).

dguzman said...

That's a really neat suet feeder design.

Cheryl said...

Lovely woodpecker.......very similar to our greater spotted......ours is quite happy to share the feeder with other birds........

Anonymous said...

Pileateds are so handsome and fierce-looking. You're so lucky to have one at your feeder. And big kudos to your husband for foiling the squirrels so far!

Shelley said...

That is sweet to see those 2 sharing the feeder - nice birdies!

NCmountainwoman said...

George - The only time we had a woodpecker share was when the Red Bellied was on one side and the Downy on the other. I'm sure the Red Bellied had no idea the Downy was there.

Lynne - I'll take a picture for you. It's rather unattractive, a PVC pipe and duct tape, but so far it is working.

Betsy - Yes, it is cold here today. We didn't get above freezing all day. Can't complain, though. My dear daughter went to work in Milwaukee this morning with a -18 degree wind chill.

Melissa - Everyone at the bird shop was amazed. They've never seen such a thing either.

Science guy - Yes, they are big. And so beautiful as they swoop through the woods.

Cicero - I am so glad when people have Pileateds to visit. Such wonderful birds.

Delia - This suet feeder is especially good for the Pileateds since it has the area at the bottom. They like to prop their tails on it.

Cheryl - The Pileateds are not at all aggressive. The Red-bellied, on the other hand, will chase away other birds near the suet.

Iris - Thanks for dropping by. Yes, my husband is quite proud of the baffle.

Shelley - I thought they were really cute as well. Our Downys are so friendly.

Ruth said...

I have several pictures of a Downy and a Junco sharing the suet this year. I have more than one feeder that has been destroyed by squirrels. They chewed my plastic window feeders to bits.

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Cedar ... said...

What a great shot of the pileated woodpecker!

Mary said...

My dealings with WBU are good. They will help out, no doubt.

Dang! A pileated! You'll hear me yell all the way down here if I see one :o)

Those Chickadees are bold. I love them.

Nick S said...

Ooh congrats on the Pileated. I'd love to have one at our feeder :-)