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Hello? Is Anybody There?

Downy Woodpecker stopped by the dining room window yesterday morning with a message:

"Hello? Ruthie, are you there?" "Could you please put down that stupid knitting long enough to fill my suet log?" Posted by RuthieJ at 1/23/2011 06:44:00 PM Labels: backyard, birdfeeding, fun stuff, woodpeckers 
Cute series! I hope you filled the feeder.

1/23/11, 6:52 PM 
Hi Ruth, I filled it this morning (finally!) But not to worry, there were 3 other full suet feeders out there that they could visit.

1/23/11, 6:57 PM 
I've got a couple of suet feeders I keep full but I fill the holes in a log like yours pictured with peanut butter. Do you think that's okay for the birds? They sure seem to devour it.

1/23/11, 7:09 PM 
Really, Ruthie, where are your priorities?

1/23/11, 7:20 PM 
Yeah. where are your priorities? I love the indignant Downy. Thanks for the laugh!

1/23/11, 7:43 PM 
How could you resist such a sweetie?

1/23/11, 8:59 PM 
Maybe he was making eyes at the bird on your window!! And do you make your own suet? Marsha's Garden posted a recipe for homemade. I can put it on your post if others are interested. It sounds yummy and yes, peanut butter is in it, so must be okay for the birds. They probably just don't open their beaks for a half hour or so. ha ha!

1/23/11, 9:00 PM 
It is easy to get sidetracked. Yet I assume you took care of the problem.

1/23/11, 9:55 PM 
What polite birdies you have! :c)

1/24/11, 5:49 AM 
I googled "peanut butter for birds" and it sounds fine. If I were doing it, I'd use chunky peanut butter and maybe mix some birdseed in too. For my log feeder, I thaw a suet cake from my freezer and use a knife to stuff suet into the holes. The woodpeckers will empty this log in 2-3 days & I think there are 8 or 9 holes to fill, so suet cakes (bought on sale) are more economical for me than peanut butter.

Lynne & Mare, if you look just to the right of this little downy, you will see way in the background that there's a double suet cage (filled!) hanging in the tree. I think this woodpecker was just checking to see how well she had me trained!

You got that right Guinifer. At first I couldn't figure out what the noise was and when I looked at the window I saw her there, scrabbling to grab a hold of the metal frame on the windowsill. Fortunately I had the camera right there to snap these 2 pics. Kitty was very interested too!

Thanks Mollie. I'm too lazy of a birdfeeder to make my own peanut butter treats, but I've heard from other who do that the birds really love it!

Yupper -- filled that suet log early Sunday morning and everyone was happy again! Hairy & Red-Bellied woodpeckers like it too.

LOL Jayne! I love those little downies!

1/24/11, 7:58 AM Karen L. said...

Just found your blog through Mama Pea and Wow I am really enjoying it. I have spent many minutes going backward through your posts and looking at all the photos and reading your entries. Love the shawl (sadly I crochet not knit) but I really got fixated on the Eagle photos. I even enhanced them to get a better view. They were stupendous!!!!! I am in north central NC not far from the VA line and we have had a nesting pair of eagles here for the last 8 or 10 years. They really do catch your eye when they fly over. Anyway, thanks for posting all the great bird photos. I will visit often to see what you are up to. My Dad was a birder and we used to go with him to band shore birds on the NJ coast. My favorite ..... the blackskimmer. I love the way they fly and the sound they make.

1/24/11, 6:34 PM Marianne, aka Ranger Anna said...

Other good suet recipes are available from Julie Zickenfoose and Bill of the Birds (her hubby). We've been experimenting with all sorts of suet deals, given the price of pre-made suet cakes at the store.

1/24/11, 7:10 PM 
You sure captured the message from the woodpecker, like NOW!!! So cute.


1/25/11, 11:15 PM 
Welcome to my blog and thanks so much for your kind words. Crocheting is good -- don't be sad about that! I crochet too, but just happen to love knitting more! I also hope that a trip to Cape May is somewhere in my future!

Hi Marianne,
I haven't tried the Zick Dough recipe, but know that it gets rave reviews from lots of other bird lovers who've tried it. I'm fortunate to have a couple of economical sources for good quality suet and seed (since my birdies consume mass quantities!)

You got that right Mom! One thing about my Downy Woodpeckers -- they're not shy at all!

1/26/11, 3:55 PM