Our own "Woody"

by Edwina Glover
(Donalsonville, Ga)

A male red-bellied woody first came to our sunflower feeder a month ago and is a constant visitor now. A female came for several days and then we saw her no more.

Our woody feeds along side purple finches, Carolina chickadees, sparrows and cardinals. We feed only sunflower seeds at the feeder and occasionally he gets a bit greedy and stays for several minutes 'gorging' himself. He will also store seed in a broken limb of a nearby cedar tree. He does not live in this tree but in a dead pine tree on an adjoining lot. We leave the tree along because it has many woodpecker holes and does not endanger our house.

I can always hear the woody before he comes to feed or if he is just waiting to scare off another bird from a porch column a foot or so away. He will interrupt them by flying up to the feeder if they take too long! I also put bits of apple and raisins on a ground feeder and he helps the squirrels eat from this fare also.

We are considering adding a feeder I saw recently called a woodpecker feeding post. He is a treat to watch.