![]() ![]() During this time, they look almost artificial, and they have fooled visitors at Pokagon State Park when I have volunteered at the bird observation window in the Nature Center. These birds will squeeze against their perch motionless for up to ten minutes if they sense danger. There might be a Cooper’s Hawk or other predator nearby. If you notice a Downy Woodpecker suddenly freeze and squeeze itself against a tree trunk, look around. The Downy also has a “pik” alarm call and a whinnying call used during breeding season by both male and female. They are percussionists that announce their presence by drumming on wood or metal at up to 17 beats per second. The territorial “song” of the Downy sounds less like Mozart and more like Stomp. If you would prefer to make your own suet, “Birds and Blooms” magazine has several recipes online: The suet feeders that are upright allow for better photos, but the House Sparrows, Starlings and squirrels eat all of the suet within a day or two. Its smaller size allows it to feed and nest in places where larger. ![]() It’s also a frequent visitor to bird feeders. Its omnivore diet undoubtedly plays a role since it will eat various foods. The Downy Woodpecker is a year-round resident in most of its range and does not migrate. I have found that the suet feeders designed such that the bird must hang upside-down to eat tend to keep some of the nuisance birds away. Downy Woodpecker Range, Habitat, Behavior, Diet & Nesting. To attract these birds to your back yard, all you need is a suet feeder. They are known to eat over 40 types of insects, including bark beetles, apple borers and weevils. These beneficial birds help keep the populations of pest insects under control. In winter, you are more likely to find these birds on rough-barked trees since insects prefer to overwinter in rough-barked trees rather than in smooth-barked trees. Females forage on larger branches and tree trunks. Males search for food on smaller branches and on weed stems (since Downy Woodpeckers are small, they can forage on weeds that cannot support the weight of larger woodpeckers). ![]() The males and females do not go out to dinner together and the males are hardly chivalrous the males have a tendency to drive the females away from the best foraging locations. Unlike human couples who like to dine together, Downy Woodpeckers are not sociable eaters, particularly in winter. It is also one of the most widespread of our woodpeckers and it is the one most often seen on backyard suet feeders. The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest species of woodpecker in North America. Downy Woodpecker Photo by Charles and Sharon Sorenson Author: Alexandra (Alex) Forsythe ![]()
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