I Need To Make Some Suet For The Birds

Seeing movement some distance from me, I focused my attention on what was going on. Turns out it’s a male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) visiting me today.

This is the smallest woodpecker in North America. One that I often see, all year long. They’re fascinating and having them here year ’round makes me feel quite fortunate.

Seeing this one reminds me that I need to get busy and whip up some suet for them. They eat insects, and acorns, grains and berries. But they are particularly attracted to suet at my feeders. I haven’t put any out in quite some time.

Suet at the feeder will mean seeing these little woodpeckers more frequently. Perfect!

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.