Red-Bellied Woodpecker - The Latest

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I was just thinking today, when will I see a new bird in the yard - it happened this evening after dinner. A little earlier while we were finishing our meal, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird male came up to the large planter pots in front of our small deck landing at the patio sliding glass door (1) - for five six seasons we have only seen females, so this one didn't count as "new." But the the Red-bellied Woodpecker that swooped in and landed on the seed feeder was new, added to the sightings in previous years of Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers. All four of these birds are common in the eastern half of the United States, but is is good to see some additional diversity come our way. The only mystery, is why is it called "red-bellied?"(2) From the three angles of the photographs I took, no sign of red on the belly. It was interesting that the bird went for the seed feeder, rather than the suet feeder as the Downy Woodpecker does with regularity. That was the first thing Jan noted while we watched. When you consider the dreary clouded sky this evening and then add up all of the red we saw with the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and the always-present Northern Cardinal male - it is a nice contrast.
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(1)Verbena seems to have been the attractant.

(2) For a discussion about the "red belly," go to the link here.

Newest Addition - Carolina Wren

We put up a suet bird feeder last year, but it didn't seem to get that much attention. I tried again this this autumn - putting in a block that contained insect parts. The owner of the Wild Bird Center shop where we go to here in Annapolis recommended it since the weather was still warm and the suet still stood a chance of melting. I used fruit-based suet cakes before, but didn't seem to get much success - I had hoped
these would attract Baltimore orioles. Earlier in the week, I noticed a downy woodpecker frequenting the feeder a couple of times. Yesterday evening I saw a wren make a quick stop, but couldn't tell which species. This morning, for sure it was a Carolina wren - distinguished by the white eyebrow stripe and the short tail. These markings are different from the Bewick's wren that also has the eyebrow stripe, but a longer tail with white striping. The Bewick's wren is a threatened species - see information here, so is not seen very frequently. The National Geographic bird site gives a nice description of the Carolina wren here. For suet recipes, go to the Website here. Also, I have been noticing a lot of activity by tufted titmouse at the seed feeder this week as well, along with the house finch and sparrows.