Woodpeckers Welcome Return

January 5^th, 2015. We took down the log feeder during the summer. It was simply too hot to retain the peanut butter-vegetable shortening-seed mix in the holes. We put the feeder up about a week ago. 

Within a day, a female Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) found the feeder again. Yesterday, I saw a female on the feeder and two more one the tree trunk above. Later in the day, a male Downy Woodpecker also found the feeder. 

This morning, as a female Downy Woodpecker was feeding on the log, I noticed another woodpecker high on the tree trunk above the feeder.

The first male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). He backed his way down and around the tree trunk until he could just hop across to the feeder. 

He spent some time feeding before he flew off into the woods. Hopefully, we'll see a female before too long.

It’s great to have the woodpeckers back again.