Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Giving Tree

I mixed some suet with blue berries, peanut butter, a few thawed raspberries and quick oatmeal, 
 Then squished it into the V's of the bark of the walnut tree outside my kitchen window. 
( I hope you notice the woodpecker in the upper, right-hand corner.)

  I found a place nearby to sit and watch.   Though I had expected to see the woodpeckers enjoying the suet . . . 






. . .  I was delighted to see blue jays turn into clinging birds in an effort to get their share of the goodies.
 This Red-bellied woodpecker, below won the prize for the biggest mouthful.
It quickly took its dinner and disappeared deeper into the woods.
Word must have gotten out about this new feeding spot.  Even the Dark-eyed junco became impatient, no longer content with waiting on the ground for pieces of the greasy mixture to fall.

The prize for persistence goes to the White-breasted nuthatch. There were at least three different ones, constantly coming and going. One must have claimed the tree as its own, for every morsel was haltingly carried up the tree to be re-deposited in a special nuthatch pantry.
And one more thing, for all you readers from the northern 2/3 of the United States, that shiny thing you see in the background is sunshine.  (Even some of you Europeans might be wondering.)

    

9 comments:

Jain said...

This is a wonderful collection of birds! The Junco surprised me. I haven't put suet out in a while, I shall do it soon.

KaHolly said...

Delightful photo essay today! I especially enjoyed the cropped series of the Jay. Very effective. You've got some lucky, and very appreciative birds. I used to go out on an old hiking trail in Maine on skis and hang suet for the Pileated Woodpeckers and smear more on the tree trunks along the way during the coldest and harshest months of winter. I didn't hang around to observe, but your photos show me that the forest birds were probably very thankful. I'll bet they miss me now that I've moved away. Great post! ~karen

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

Karen, what a great idea. Another plus is that it would make the birds recognize you as a good thing to have in their woods. I often take a pocket full of peanuts and drop them as I go.
nellie

Anonymous said...

What a cool idea! You should submit this to Festival of the Trees, which I'm hosting this month... :)

Stephanie Berry said...

You are the Julia Child of bird feeders! Nice photos. Isn't it funny how fast word travels in the bird world?

EG CameraGirl said...

That's such a clever idea...so clever, in fact, that I'm going to copy it! :)

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

Rebecca, Thanks for the invite. I have submitted it and will be sure to promote the festival as soon as you get it posted. Be sure to remind me.
nellie

JSK said...

What a great idea! I'm going to try it.
Love the Blue Jay photos. 'Ours' stay in the woods at the far end of the field and only come near the house occasionally. Wonder if this will lure them near more often.

Anonymous said...

They really seem to like that! And it gives you the opportunity to take some nice photos.