Stella Likes Seeds

Here is the beautiful Stella, the female downy woodpecker, at the seed feeder! Usually I see her on the suet cage, but a few times more recently I caught her here. I love how she uses her tail feathers as extra support.
I welcome her to any of my feeders!

Deep Freeze

Here in Chicago we are under a bit of a freezing spell. This morning at 9am, the temp was -2 degrees and right now it's a whole 3 degrees! Tomorrow's forecast is going to be much the same. Needless to say, I'm staying inside! That means unless nature comes knocking at my window, there won't be many photos this week.

Remember my inexpensive birdbath heater? Look at what a great job it's doing in -2 degree weather, that's when I took this picture. You can't tell by the photo but, the water near the heater is actually steaming! Even the stupid squirrels need water right now.


And here we have Stella having a breakfast treat. She is eating "Nutty Delight" made by C&S, sold at Sid's nursery and other places. I think this is the woodpecker's favorite. I notice a lot more activity with this flavor than others, or maybe I'm just coookie.
Speaking of Stella, I know we have more than one "Stella". There is a Stella with clearly defined black and white stripes on her head, as in photo, and there is a Stella with a different, more messy or undefined black and white shapes on her head. Maybe one day I'll get a clear shot of both to compare.

Notice my suet cage is different, the last one was green and had an opening in the bottom. Those nasty squirrels figures out how to open the bottom and remove the suet cake! They even chewed through heavy plastic cable ties that I tried to fasten as a lock.
HA.
No match for evil squirrel.
This cage has a side opening which I'm hoping is a little more difficult to open...we'll see!

Christmas Birdies

Well, I hope nobody is tired of looking at my birdies...because I sure do love them and can look at them everyday of the year!

The top low resolution photo shows Stella, the female downy woodpecker, and a male cardinal. I just love the bright red of the male cardinal especially in the winter. I don't know why the male cardinal doesn't molt into a drab wardrobe like so many other male birds do in the winter time? He makes for a really bright target! Maybe a smart naturalist knows the answer to that question.


Here is the beautiful Ms. Cardinal. I really like her pose. I think she must become a watercolor painting soon. Now the female cardinal is drab, but she's drab all year round. Drab but still beautiful!

Henry & Stella Update

Henry Hooked for Suet

Handsome Henry's Backside

Stella Gets a Turn

Look...I'm like a proud mom showing photos!
I took these pictures of my feathered children Sunday morning. They're looking healthy and doing great!

It was much fun to watch them "play" at the feeder. Henry would land on top of that shepard's hook and Stella would almost run him over and land on the hook herself, then Henry would do the same to her. Awww.... maybe they're flirting. How cute. Now some bird expert is thinking right now, "No stupid, they're being territorial!"
Well, moms have a way with never seeing the bad, so I think they're playing :)

Henry and Stella are enjoying berry suet from Wal-Mart. They also love peanut (their fav) and apple. Some people might be asking, "What's suet?"
Suet is animal fat mixed with seeds, nuts, or fruit. It is mixed in the form of a square and you place it in a suet cage. It smells and is gross to touch but it is high energy food, which they need. That is very important especially during the winter when it's a little bit harder for them to find insects.
For the summer, you can also buy year round suet which doesn't melt in warm weather.
You can find a whole slew of flavors now or you can make your own recipe.

Pretty cheap too:
Cage $2.99
Suet $1.50
Hook $10.00

Place one about 6 feet from your window and enjoy a variety of birds while helping them to survive this winter!