Date: 5/24/26 8:47 am From: blueheron05 <blueheron05...> Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Possibly odd behaviour by Downy Woodpeckers
I had a pair feeding a young one at a feeder yesterday. I assume this is a
teaching moment. They use the seed feeders (mixed finch food in one, black
oil sunflower in the other) and the suet feeders which are still up.
On Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 10:14:53 PM UTC-4 Steve Long wrote:
> I regularly have Downy Woodpeckers at my tube feeder. They seem to like
> the sunflower kernels and maybe the peanut splits. They are year-round
> feeders here. But, I don't recall ever seeing 2 on the same feeder at
> once.
>
> I also have regular Red-bellied Woodpeckers at the same feeder. They
> can't get inside the cage, but can reach far enough through to get the
> peanuts.
>
> Steve Long, Oxford
> On 5/23/2026 8:01 PM, <jonbarr......> wrote:
>
> A few days ago I noticed a female Downy feeding at my nyjer/sunflower chip
> feeder (a wire mesh cylinder). In the last couple of days she’s been joined
> by a male Downy. By “joined”, I don’t mean one or the other, I’ve
> frequently observed both of them there at the same time, and this evening
> they actually “scared off” a Cardinal who also wanted to feed there. I
> stopped putting out suet back in March, when things seemed to be warming
> up, and even while I had the suet out I hadn’t seen them as regularly as I
> am now.
>
> My initial thought was that some ants or other insects had gotten in
> there, but I’ve refilled the feeder and this has continued, not just as an
> occasional visit but as a fairly steady series of visits. Is this an
> anomaly, or have other people observed similar behaviour?
>
>
>
> Jon
>
>
>
> Jon Barrett
>
> <jonbarr......>
>
> Greenbelt, MD
>
>
>
> --
> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
> To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on
> the web at http://www.mdbirding.com > Unfamiliar with a hotspot mentioned on this list? Quickly locate it here -
> http://www.mdbirding.com/hotspot.html > ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Maryland & DC Birding" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mdbirding+<......>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1ee501dceb10%2470a46ba0%2451ed42e0%<24...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1ee501dceb10%2470a46ba0%2451ed42e0%<24...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
>
--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com Unfamiliar with a hotspot mentioned on this list? Quickly locate it here - http://www.mdbirding.com/hotspot.html ---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maryland & DC Birding" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mdbirding+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/<304e0ab6-28db-4e1d-be04-7f9ca14a00den...>
