My dad and I knocked out 2 of these in about 2 hours. We did a lot of it on the fly without real good plans to follow. I hope that this works and gets the woodpeckers and any other bird out there that can cling and feed. It has cracked corn and wheat in it right now which is supposed to be a good balanced food for them. I wanted to put peanuts in it but the birds don't get better food than I do. Let's hope it doesn't sit and rot instead of get eaten. I did see one feeding on the ground today so hopefully it will decide that the feeder is something it can get used to.
I like the look of your feeder. :-D Now just let's hope the birds find it and use it. I'd love to see photographs of any visitors when they arrive.
How do the birds get at the cracked corn? I can't see a hole or slit or something giving them access. It looks like a nice silo-like feeder, though. You guys had those done pretty quickly.
i've never seen a woodpecker feeder before! interesting! most of our woodpeckers enjoy eating the bugs off our roof. it's weird waking up to a jack-hammering sound on a steel roof in the morning!
These are shots of the feeder ports, one on each side. Not very big, it is 2 one inch holes side by side but I don't think a woodpecker needs much more to be able to get to the feed. I know the ones I see here have a beak long enough to easily get to it and the little birds that might decide to feed from it shouldn't have any problems. If the birds do have a problem I will just make the holes slightly larger. I put 1/4 inch wire mesh/hardware cloth to hold the feed in. Seems like it should work well. Always able to modify what needs to be changed with screws holding it together. Only thing I need to do now is to make some cuts under and around the holes for foot holds or add some small pieces of wood for the same purpose. Editted with better pictures.
There is my target bird. I am pretty sure it is a wood pecker and not a chucker?? (Is that what the smaller similar species are called) Beautiful bird either way. Large bird, maybe 18 inches long and very hefty. Sorry for the pathetic picture but it was through a dirty window and in haste because they are so skittish.
Those are some nice looking feeders. I think your target bird is a Northern Flicker. I've never had one come to a feeder but they do like birdbaths a lot. They mainly eat insects, but do eat fruits and seeds in the winter. More info here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id Good luck!
We do have the lficker here but have 2 other speices also which I have no clue what they are. Nothing goes to the feeder yet, not even the little birds even when their bird feeder is empty. Locations could be part of it but I haven't seen flicker nor wood pecker here for a couple weeks so that could be why also. I will likely hang it from a tree out back and see if that works if nothing visits this summer.
Woodpeckers do prefer a suet mix to take the place of insects and come to suet when pushed into holes. This log that I put a few holes in is about 3 feet from the window, Would have it closer but that is the size of the gate from the deck. Male Downy ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden ) Female Pileated woodpecker ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden ) Male Northern Flicker ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden ) Female Northern Flicker ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden )
I have never thought of making a birdfeeder for the woodpeckers, but it's a great idea. It'll be a good project for my little cub scout I think. We'll try to get some made by fall. Also the woodpecker photos are great! I can never get such clear closeups.
I don't know if the woodpeckers are using them because I haven't seen any but the smaller birds are finally. I even saw a momma or daddy bird picking wheat or cron out of it and feeding it to a one fo their youngins. I really like it because the other unwanted birds can not use the feeder. I think the woodpweckers will be back in the fall as I see them a lot more in the fall and winter than summer around here. This may not be a summer home for them.
