Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers will announce themselves at the feeders, then, as soon as they know you're watching, leave.

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Teasers!

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That they are!

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I did manage to get a good shot of the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker once...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1p3Gqr-8K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

And this Cooper's Hawk was a nice surprise-

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYxE2FIpGrw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Those are some cool shots. I think I've only seen a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker once in my life.

I have some great shots of a Cooper's Hawk fighting a Northern Flicker back in 2018.
https://365project.org/stephomy/365/2018-10-19

At the time I thought it was a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, but now I'm pretty sure they don't get that big, and it was a Coopers.

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darkcedars

That's great!

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Thanks!

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ysabetwordsmith

I have seen pileated woodpeckers at Dad's place, which is right near a river with lots of trees. They need more and bigger trees.

Here we used to have redheaded woodpeckers but now it's downy woodpeckers and occasionally yellow-bellied woodpeckers. I had common flickers for some years but not recently.

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This one either lives among the large Oaks by the ponds, or the heavily wooded area across the road.

Before our snag fell (old Red oak that died before we bought the house, birds loved it, so we left it, until the base rotted out and it fell into the hay field), that's where I'd spot them.

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ysabetwordsmith

>>This one either lives among the large Oaks by the ponds, or the heavily wooded area across the road.<<

Yeah, that's the kind of habitat they like.

>> Before our snag fell (old Red oak that died before we bought the house, birds loved it, so we left it, until the base rotted out and it fell into the hay field), that's where I'd spot them.<<

They need standing snags, and because of their size, pileated woodpeckers need bigger ones than other species do.

We had a big standing snag for about 10 years before it fell to become a log. Currently I have a maple that's dying, and the woodpeckers love it.

If you like birdscaping, you can add a snag to your yard:

Attract Birds by Adding a Snag to Your Yard

Attracting Birds With Snags - Wood Birdhouses

Attracting Wildlife With Dead Trees - Ipswich, MA

Bird Community Response to Timber Stand Improvement and Snag Retention

Brush piles: improving backyard habitat

Creating starter holes for cavity-nesting birds - NestWatch

Creating a Stumpery - Penn State Extension

Dead trees can support a lot of life - Audubon California

Did You Know? Dead Trees or Snags Support a Plethora of Wildlife!

Do NOT cut down that dead or dying tree - Ferns & Feathers

The Ecosystem Benefits of Dead Standing Wood, or “Tree Snags”

Girdle invasive species to create valuable snags

A Guide to Building and Placing Birdhouses: Save a Snag for Wildlife

How to Make a DIY Stumpery in Your Garden - Dengarden

The importance of snags and downed logs to wildlife – OFNC

It's for the birds: creating snags for bird habitat

Life in a Snaggy Wood - Tales from a West Michigan Wood

Making a Backyard Bird Sanctuary - Toms River, NJ Patch
A dead tree can be an important element in a bird-friendly environment right outside your window.

My Healthy Woods A Handbook for Family Woodland Owners Managing Woods in New Jersey

Plant a standing snag for wildlife

Providing Snags in the Home Habitat - American Artifacts

Snag (ecology) - Wikipedia

Snag Management - Idaho Department of Lands

Snag Some Birds with Snags - Black Hills Audubon Society

Snag Trees and Healthy Ecosystems - Conservation Northwest

Snag You're It! A Native Plant Journey

SNAGGED: DEAD WOOD FOR WILDLIFE - New Jersey Audubon

Snags, Bark Beetles, and Cavity-Nesting Birds: Conservation and Management in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the Pacific Northwest

Snags, Cavity Trees and Downed Logs

Snags for Wildlife Fact Sheet

Snags: The Wildlife Tree - WDFW

snags, or wildlife trees: cultivate, don’t cart away, dead, dying, and hazard trees

Stumpery - Wikipedia

The Stumpery Garden: A Perfect Place for Ferns and Woodland Gems

The Victorian Stumpery

What tree makes a good snag in the urban landscape?

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This was the Habitat Oak, as we called it for the birds and the Five Line Skinks that lived on/in it, about 2 years before it fell- (It was a Red Oak)

Early morning. There's a hay field out there... maybe. #nofilter #earlymorning #mountainmorning #mountainfog #swva #bedfordcountyva #fiveoaks #dantesspirit #latespring

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), when it fell, it fell into the hayfield, and we didn't have the equipment to haul the trunk back onto our property. Neighbors came and cut the branches off for firewood and the farmer that gets hay off the field had to use his tractor to lift the trunk and move it.

1.5 to 2 years ago now, Castor and Pollux fell, within 6 months of each other. (They were Eastern White Pines. Thankfully there's seedlings that we can watch grow to replace them.)

Pollux, on the right, fell first. He fell into the brushy/wooded area, and didn't need any trimming, so has been left to decay in place, becoming a refuge for wildlife and birds. Castor on the left, fell 6 months later, and had to be trimmed back, so the little Deodar Cedar has room to grow and we can get into the pet cemetery area to the left. Otherwise, trunk wise and upper branches, as well as behind, has all been left in place. Anything we cut off was tossed on/into the remains, creating a deadfall refuge.

This was right before Castor fell-

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbk6MT5pLZW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

It still looks odd back there now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClCdBT_JIEe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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ysabetwordsmith

>>This was the Habitat Oak, as we called it for the birds and the Five Line Skinks that lived on/in it,<<

Skinks are so adorable. :D

>>It still looks odd back there now.<<

Every time a big tree falls here, it takes a while to get used to the changed canopy. And I have all the layers of a rainforest: emergent trees (sycamore), canopy trees (mostly walnuts and hackberries), understory trees (mostly mulberries), shrubs (privet, Canadian hemlock, forsythia, etc.), vine (wild grapes!), herbaceous (woodland and prairie plants), ground covers (wild strawberry, lawn, etc.), and roots (sunchoke).

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devon

Congrats! Very nice! They're so BIG, but it's hard for me to get a sense of it from most pro photos, but your pic shows the size very well.

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It always amazes me how so very large they are, no matter how many times I see one.

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pameladean

Oh, good shot! I've learned to look my fill at a pileated woodpecker before even lifting the camera, because you're right, they know and their sole purpose is apparently to thwart one's attempts to photograph them.

P.

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I was literally standing at the window, refusing to lift the blinds, going, 'ok, lift your head, come on..'

Heh.

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I very much hope to see a pileated woodpecker someday. (They don't come this far west.) Partner is from Maryland, so we've been out there a few times, but while he's seen them out there, we haven't caught any on our trips!

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I caught Sand Hill Cranes last year on our trip home to Michigan. I asked my brother what that sound was and he, completely amused by me, replied they're just Sand Hill Cranes. We hear them all the time.

LOL.

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I kind of love how everyone gets so used to the birds (or other animals) that are common near them, while other people would be thrilled to see them. (I'd definitely be wildly excited for cranes!) I always love seeing birds, even "common" ones, but it's a nice reminder of... idk, finding something special in the mundane/appreciating even "ordinary" parts of your surroundings.

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Exactly! I don't care how many times I've seen a Carolina Wren, they will always make me excited to see them.

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I was about to dispute your comment because I see them in Seattle sometimes, but then I thought to look at their range map and saw that they skip a whole bunch of area in the west before showing up on the west coast. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_woodpecker#/media/File:Dryocopus_pileatus_map.svg

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That's such a wild range map! It's interesting to me that they're so common in the south of the US, and then arc up so far north into Canada. Though I didn't realize that I have a shot at seeing them in the PNW too though, so that's good to know!

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It is a crazy map.

If you're ever in Seattle, Discovery Part is a good place to go to see them. I've seen them there a few times. Usually you can hear them first. They sound kind of like a Northern Flicker, only much louder.

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That's good to know! I haven't ever made it up to Washington State - yet! - though I've journeyed into Oregon a couple of times when my grandparents lived there.

But also good to know to listen for a flicker-but-louder (bigger), because those I am familiar with!

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