More Feathered Friends

Mrs. Cardinal with woodpecker and sparrow

 

This pair of cardinals are shyer than the other birds--it's taken me a couple of weeks to be able to get some shots of them at the new feeder, but I finally managed it. Other birds weren't so shy, as you can see there appears to be a woodpeckers (perhaps a hairy or a downy woodpecker, or maybe two?) underneath the feeder, and a chipping or song sparrow also on the ground while Mrs. Cardinal takes her meal.

 

Mr. Cardinal, finally!

Mr. Cardinal finally landed on the feeder long enough for me to take some photos, while a sparrow scarfs up what falls on the ground. He's gradually gaining confidence--this morning I found him perched on the railing of the front porch! Sadly, after only a few days of this feeding frenzy, the fruit and nut block has vanished completely. I just ordered another five blocks--I hope this will last through the beginning of March, but at this rate, who knows?

Hairy woodpecker with goldfinch an d sparrow

Yesterday my front yard was full of birds, with one new species making an appearance--a hairy woodpecker. There may have been two of them, one I think was a juvenile, with a small red spot just above the beak, but I couldn't get a clear photo of that one. This  one above is an adult. 

 

Juvenile hairy woodpecker and cardinal

 

Red-bellied woodpecker male, with hairy woodpecker under the feeder

I wish I'd tried to take a video--the red-bellied woodpecker pair were back, perching on separate branches of the cherry tree, while one hairy woodpecker was on another branch, another small woodpecker and the white-breasted nuthatch were on the dogwood with the female cardinal, bunches of finches, dark-eyed juncos, chickadees, tufted titmice and sparrows flitted all around--on the branches, the ground, and the feeders. The male cardinal came to perch on the front doorstep a few times while this was going on. What an amazing show!

 

Five finches on the sock