Downy WP, home

If I can't get too far afield in the natural world these days, I'm eternally glad that I can still bring nature fairly close to me. One sure-fire way I do this is with my suet feeder, a magnet for fat-loving birds, woodpeckers in particular. Except for those parched summers that favor huge populations of yellow jackets, which also delight in the suet offerings, I feed pretty near year-round, and because the "fat sack" is fairly high off the ground—about seven or so feet... as high as I can reach—I don't have to worry too much about luring in birds... for the cats. I have one feline that camps out under the suet and meows pitifully at the injustice of not being able to snag his prey, but I and the feeder birds pay him little attention. They know he's lurking below, and they also know he can't jump that high. This Downy Woodpecker, our smallest WP, had little to fear as he pecked away at the fat and packed on the calories. His jaunty red head-cap added a splash of welcome color to the otherwise somber landscape.