Woodpeckers |
I've always liked woodpeckers. You just have to respect a bird that makes his living by banging
 his head against a tree. OK, I know they are designed that way and have some sort of shock absorbing device built in, but it still seems like a hard way to get a
meal. We have always had a good number of woodpeckers that come to the yard, and I have always enjoyed watching them. Yet in all the years I have watched them I never saw them drink
from a birdbath until the fall of 2001. This is a Red Breasted that comes to our yard on a regular basis. At least I think it's the same bird. He makes a round of certain trees and then leaves. When it got
extremely dry in the early fall of 2001 he would come to this tree first, get a drink, and then go on about his business of looking for bugs.
You will notice that woodpeckers go about getting a drink a little differently than other birds. I have never seen one land on the birdbath, they always hang on the tree and lean over to get a drink. If
we didn't have a birdbath mounted on a tree I don't think I would ever have seen them using a birdbath as a water source. After he gets his drink he goes on up the tree in usual woodpecker fashion.
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 This is another of the woodpeckers
getting a drink. I'm not exactly sure of the identification on this one so I'll have to look it up later. Maybe someone can let me know. The brown colored patch on the back of his head is actually
supposed to be red, it just looks off brown in the picture. I'm thinking maybe this is a Downy. He is not a regular visitor and in fact I have only seen him once or twice. Maybe he comes just for
the water. But as you can see, he is hanging on to the tree, leaning over to get his drink.
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 This
one I believe is a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, I'll have
to check to make sure. There is a Sapsucker that comes
to the yard regulary and this is probably him. Some of
the woodpeckers take several drinks before passing on,
and some only get a quick sip almost two fast to see.
The Sapsucker and the Red Breasted take several drinks.
In fact the Red Breasted has hopped up the tree and back
for another drink several times before he finally gets
enough and moves on. Most of the woodpeckers seem to be
a little shy around the water bowl and may leave if
other birds come in. The Red Breasted seems undecided
when other birds are around. He will go to the bowl,
then back up a couple steps, then back to the bowl, then
back away again. He seems determined to get a drink, but
it is obvious that he wishes the other birds weren't
there. Watching the birds around the water bowl has been
a learning experience for me on how different birds
interact with one another.
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