Thank you Lesley for this look into the world of the Downy.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

So very welcome. I was thrilled to have lucked into seeing this behavior and I'm glad you enjoyed it too 🥰

@mscir

Жыл бұрын

I've learned more about birds here than from anywhere else.

And downy woodpeckers too male and female. Sooooo. Beautiful

I leave my dead trees for them. I have a bunch

Sending love & light to all Be the light in 2023 5:22

Downy woodpecker are an incredible beautiful bird. It’s great to see them make the cavity for the night stay in those winter night. They are one of my favorite birds. Blessings and thanks.

Your stories are so sweet; I know your heart breaks when one of your special friends go missing.

Woodpeckers, notably Downy and Hairy, always raise my spirits!! Thank you.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Love that!

Thank you, I have 2 pairs. They sure love the suet cakes. Such darling birds.

I love it when I see these beauties in my backyard. They are so busy and I could watch them for hours. I enjoy watching them come to my peanut and suet feeding station. Your videos always make my day. Thank you for sharing your love and appreciation for birds with us.

Our most frequent visitors❗❗❗ We LOVE Downy Woodpeckers❗♡♡♡ Thank you for the great video ❗❗❗

I love seeing Downys... with their quick movement, and jumping from tree to tree while pecking away at wood curiously to look for food, they seem incredibly intelligent to me... especially compared with Doves, haha.

I always have them at my back porch suet feeder. I have a whole lot of dead standing trees in the woods behind my home. I'm so happy to know there are possible downys sleeping out there! Thanks for another informative video and all that snow looks awesome! We've been robbed of snow this winter in Southern NY lol

@russelder9743

Жыл бұрын

No snow here in Schoharie County...winter that wasn't.....I had to snow blow only twice

@rvnmedic1968

Жыл бұрын

We live in N Central NY, 40 miles NE of Syracuse. I measure the snowfall each time with a yardstick and record it. No guessing. Our total so far this winter is 93", of which 48" in two days contributed to that. Don't worry, New Yorkers. It will be warm again in July! Cheers

Well done as always and spring is getting closer. These little guys give new meaning to central heating

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much.

Cute pine Martin

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Sure is 🥰Love it when I see that guy

Omg I would have loved to see 46 winter wrens piled into one nest LOL That would have been so amazing to see them all huddled up together. I would love to see even a dozen birds in one nest. That would be the cutest ball of fluff lol.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

I know hey?! I can't even imagine how frigging adorable that must be, I would burst hahaha

One of my favorite

Wow, that was your lucky day! Such incredible footage you captured of the Downy excavating her cavity. A few weeks ago, I noticed a Pileated banging away on a tree about 30 feet up, while I was on my daily hike in the nature preserve behind my house. I see Pileated woodpeckers all the time (especially this past year, there have been TONS of them, for whatever reason), so this is a very common occurrence around here in CT. I'd assumed that he was just drilling a food hole, searching for ants and grubs, etc. But I kept seeing the same Pileated at that same hole, day after day, drilling away like a bird possessed. It dawned on me that he wasn't drilling for food, but excavating a new nest cavity for this upcoming Spring nesting season. I sit there (even today!) and watch him go into the cavity and then reemerge a few minutes later with a beak full of wood chips that he drops to the ground (there's a pile of fresh wood chips at the base of the tree). I'm guessing that the excavation will be done soon, and I'm looking forward to see what happens next. Will he attract a mate with his fancy new cavity? Will she like it? Will there be babies in the summer? Who knows! But I'll be keeping an eye on it! Thanks for another awesome video, Lesley!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

I am so envious right now, haha! I absolutely adore Pileated woodpeckers but they aren't in my area, I've never seen one in person. How cool about you seeing that guy honing his cavity-building skills. If he keeps that up, he will have great success in attracting a female. 🥰 Keep an eye on that for sure. Thanks for sharing your own bird experience 😀

@Tika927

Жыл бұрын

I also saw a pileated going ham on a tree cavity! He didn’t seem care about us standing below in the slightest, totally laser focused on the goal. They’re the closest thing we’ll get to seeing pterodactyls lol

I have a friendly Downy that will come and get a peanut and loves the suet.

2:29 that woodpecker just can't decide whether to stay or go.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha I know. It's adorable

Enjoyed this fascinating look at this woodpecker. Just bonus information to find out they sleep in tree holes they fashion out themselves. Thanks Leslie!

Its so puzzling why some birds roost together and others do it solo, you would think the added body heat would be enough to convince them to at least pair up if not 5 or 6 family members to a hole. I suppose its easier for each bird to find a hole than it would be to find holes large enough for a brood. Such fascinating little creatures and I sure am appreciative of your work, Lesley, you are doing great things out there.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

I feel the same way, it just seems like it would easier to survive if they roosted with another bird at least. I guess that with them being kind of solo and not so social, plus really territorial could be why they don't. If only they were able to settle their difference hahaha. Thanks for the kind comment, have a nice Sunday!

So good getting your insights on this! Woodpeckers are so cute with their head poking out of the tree!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Awesome, I'm happy that you enjoyed the little video and I agree. Absolutely love it when they poke their head of the tree, haha.

I feed the chickadees and the Downy Woodpeckers all winter to help them out. Great video as I often wondered where they hung out to sleep, shared it!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

So nice of you to help them out over winter like that. Thank you for sharing the video :)

I have one that frequents my feeders. Such a cute and busy little guy/gal.

I wonder why she carved this facing north instead of east. So wonderful your timing was perfect to film her process.❤️

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

I would love to know why too. I need to bring a compass up with me though, it's possible that it's not precisely north, it may be facing slightly north east. Thanks for watching :)

@donnawoodward3163

Жыл бұрын

@@LesleytheBirdNerd good idea🧭, love your channel.

@noahway13

Жыл бұрын

@@LesleytheBirdNerd You see the snow is on the other side of the tree, so that is the way the wind is coming from. Did you ever do a video on how to get birds to come to your hand? Love your videos!

Amazing video! Never really thought about how certian birds get through such cold winter nights ♥

I saw one pecking at a telephone pole this morning and boy these are some adorable little birds. I see them in Breckenridge a lot to especially in the summer/fall months. Love them. ❤

Smart little birds.

They are so crafty ! The answer to human lumberjacks 🪓 😄

Love this video. ❤️ thank you Leslie

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for checking it out 🥰 Have a great night

Downy woodpeckers are so small lol and cute. I have a pair that I put suet out for. The male and female take turns eating. It’s become a highlight of my day watching them 😊

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Aww, how cute is that?! Love it. I have a male Downy that visits my suet feeder every single day, he's such a cutie pie🥰

I enjoy your videos very much. I live in Wisconsin in a small city and I have a pair of downy woodpeckers that have been visiting my suit feeder all winter. I’ve always wondered where woodpeckers roost. Thank You for sharing this information with us.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You are very welcome, I'm so happy you enjoy the content :) Awesome about the downy woodpecker pair you have, I think they are such lovely guests. Have a great night!

I was just talking about woodpeckers with a friend, and passed him a link to this!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much. I hope he enjoyed it :)

What gorgeous snow...: and beautiful sweet birds ❤

Leslie...you make life better for birds in so many ways! In this one video alone, I learned several things that could help, or even save birds lives! I'm just very grateful to have found your extremely , informative, thorough, caring and compassionate channel! Many good blessings to you! ❤️

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Bonnie thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. :) I love those birds so much and am more than happy to help in whatever way I can. Have a great night

I am so excited!!! Finally after 6 or 7 years of seeing Woodrow the red bellied woodpecker. His smaller counterpart showed up a few weeks ago. My goodness she is A LOT smaller. I wonder if they are a couple.

These are my favorite woodpeckers. They are just so freaking cute.

I love my lil Kin Kin!

I was watching a "red-bellied" on top of a power pole the other afternoon. Smart-alec starlings kept buzzing it. Not quite dive-bombing but still picking on it. It would lunge and squawk back in protest, but NOT budge. It was so funny.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

😄 Bird entertainment is pretty golden at times. I love that the Red-bellied you saw held his ground, awesome!

And here I thought they slept in their down sleeping bags …oh well.🤔😉🤭

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

😄

Love the Little Downy...Love all Woodpeckers...my fav is the Red-bellied. I've had several generations of these beauties bring their young and beak feed them suet cake - the males seem especially caring and dedicated Fathers. You are Right On!!! about leaving dead trees - they are Prime Home Habitat!!! We have a large Maple with a center dead limb that's been home to Woodpeckers and at least 4 litters of Gray and maybe 1 or 2 Red Squirrels Families. I just Love all my Wild Neighbors!!!

What a timely video! I have a lot of dead trees full of woodpecker holes around my home and throughout the woods... I was just trying to find out where they spend the night. I would have been amazed if they didn't take advantage of cavities. The woodpeckers have been very happy this year, sometimes there are 8 of them around the feeder tree. Mostly hairy and some downy, I have a pileated in the area but he does his own thing and stays away.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! I'm glad this video came at the right time 😀 Incredible about all the woodpecker activity you are getting, and you even have a Pileated that makes an appearance from time to time?! Love those big guys 🥰

You speak of very relevant! ...and pertinent topics!!..I love it!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Glad you think so! Thanks :)

Thank you, very interesting.

Lesley, Hi from Traverse City, Michigan! What may seem obvious now, I am no longer felling trees just because they are dead. If they pose a hazard, then sure. I have come to appreciate the value dead trees provide for food, i.e., bugs, and shelter for woodpeckers and other birds. Love your videos.

Another great, informative video, Lesley! Just love Downy Woodpeckers, and enjoy watching a male and female come to our suet feeder and grab peanuts from another. They are so cute!😊🤍🖤

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Same here, watching a Downy woodpecker is too cute. What a sweet bird

I saw some woodpeckers in Breckenridge that look similar to this. Man they were special. ❤

Thank You For another lovely video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You are so kind

I adore woodpeckers. Thank you for this lovely video, so informative, great shots! I had downy woodpeckers visit my mother's feeder, they are fun, acrobatic little sprites! Thank you again for this!

Very infomative! It's neat to see how they survive the nights.

I'm pretty sure the expression "I feel it in my bones" must have an equivalent in Bird Land. It's often called instinct, but it could also be intuition, a subconscious use of experience and logic. Birds aren't stupid, you know. ;-)

Our little common wrens in UK are known for their communal roosting behaviour: the highest number recorded is 63! We are very poorly off for woodpeckers with only three species perhaps because so much of our woodlands have been sacrificed.

Thank you Lesley for sharing this with all us other bird nerds 😊. I learn so much from you.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

An absolute pleasure, and thank you too :)

Great video. Thanks for sharing

I’ve left several dead Ash trees and I have a couple old old maples with open holes. I love birds and squirrels. They hav a good time by my house… We once had 4 different wood peckers at one time at my suet feeder. Lots of downy.

Great video as always. Super informative and I love the close ups you got of the woodpecker!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much :)

I too have found downies roosting in my bluebird boxes in the winter, here in Southern NJ. They've never nested in one though.

L♡ve your "super knowledge tips & info" on our favorite Feathered Friends. You have taught me tons!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

That is wonderful, love it 🥰

I ❤️love your Videos 🥰🐦

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

🥰💙💜Thank you so much

Thank you, I enjoyed the video, and I learned some things too.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome :)

Animals know better....when hurricane Ian was on its way to FL. A large terrestrial native tutle came out of the nature preserve and stay in our yard in a safe dry area, the preserve flooded so her burrow was probably underwater for a week, after 2 weeks she went back home when the floods had dry out 😃🤩😃🤩

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Oh wow that is awesome. What a treat that must have been for you

Woodpeckers are so cute! 🥰

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

I agree 🥰

They are cute. I have at least two in my yard that I feed. ❤️

Downy woodpeckers are the cute one of the woodpecker family. I don't get suet because it brings more aggressive birds. Like starlings, house sparrows, and mockingbirds. I just put out chuncky peanutbutter.

I often wondered about how they sleep. Thank you so much.

Had one at my suet feeder today. she is beautiful!!!

Thank you for this wonderful, informative and interesting video, Lesley.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You are welcome, thank you so much for watching :)

my cat loves watching your videos

At my dad's house we have an adorable pair of nearly fearless downy woodpeckers who are regulars at the feeders, especially the suet!! It made me so happy when suddenly we went from only seeing one, to always seeing them in a pair now 😊

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Too awesome! Seeing one Downy is awesome but seeing a pair is just the best :)

Have a great weekend

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

My gosh, thank you very much, Allan. Appreciate it and you have a great weekend too

Thank you for these informative videos. This Minnesota winter I have had more woodpeckers at my suet feeder than in previous years. I love them.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You are welcome and thanks for watching :) Interesting about you seeing more woodpeckers at your feeder than usual. They are so fun to watch

Thanks Mrs Leslie ! You bring joy and peace ,lwith your videos of our busy little winged friends! Thanks again!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You're quite welcome :) Thanks for the nice comment.

How clever! I just love those dear little downies! Thank you for another beautiful and informative video!🙂

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

They are so darn cute and lovable, I have one male that visits daily. Love seeing him. Thanks for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed it

Very much enjoy your videos and the information you enrich us with.

I love my Downey and Hairy woodpeckers...I shove peanuts into bark for them too, like I do for the Titmice and Nuthatches. I've noticed that the Cardinals have caught on tho...I put the whole peanuts out for my Blue Jays, but they will grab every shelled peanut if I put them on my platforms, so I started hiding single peanut halves in bark crevasses in my trees for the little guys who don't stand a chance against the Jays and Red Bellied woodpeckers...

Been feeding a male Downy all winter and I wondered where he goes at night! Lol I have plain, apple and pecan suet cakes...he prefers the pecan cakes :D

Another wonderful video, Lesley!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thank you :)

I've been wanting more downy woodpecker content. I live in the Boston metro area and have been getting into birding these last couple years. A pair of downies were the first to discover my house sparrow (and starling) proofed feeder and still visit multiple times per day. They tend to visit around the same time as each other so I assumed they may be nesting together but from the sound of it that's not the case in the winter.

Nice video ..... very informative, another one of my favorite winter time visitors.

Lesley---beautiful little bird...we have some of these little guys.....nice to see some snow....take care stay safe

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Aren't they the sweetest woodpeckers? I love watching them, so cute. You take care too :)

Another reason the hole is on the north side might be because that leaves (pun intended) the entire other side of the cavity facing the south which will warm up during a sunny day.

0:38. These factors are conveniently exactly what a bird would also need for a nest! Now imagine the lucky chickadee or titmouse that stumbles upon one of these winter woodpecker holes during spring. I'm sure tons of cavity-nesting birds benefit from this behavior, and will adjust the holes to better suit their needs. Woodpeckers are just so important to forests! Creating breeding habitat for other species and cutting down on wood-boring insects!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Spot on. They are very important for so many other species of not only birds but other animals. It's all really remarkable how it all works.

Thank you Leslie! 👌🏼 You've answered questions i've been wondering: Where are all my birds hiding at dusk, to survive the cold winter nights! Always found that most nests don't seem very warm or well protected from the rain.

My dead Canadian Bird Cherry trunk finally rotted and fell over last year. I had been home to my Downiest for several Spring seasons. I don’t have anything else like that habit on my property. I sure will miss them this Spring. 🙁

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Aww too bad. How awesome that you had them nest it for several years.

How fascinating! I had no idea downy woodpeckers did this. I loved this video and learned so much about these sweet birds that I simply adore. I can't believe how many incredible facts you managed to squeeze into 5 min - you are amazing Lesley! I witnessed a downy woodpecker pair nest in my dad's backyard tree last year; it was a first for me and it was spectacular watching them raise two young. Thanks yet again for another wonderful video and for taking us with you on your adventure!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Aww how wonderful about you getting to witness them nesting last year. Wow. I've only ever seen them nesting once, that was many years ago now but I will never forget those cute little nestlings peering out the hole. I am so glad that you enjoyed this video on our cutest woodpecker. An absolute honor to share these videos with others. Have a great night

Delightful! Ty! ❤

Very interesting.

We recently moved to the northern portion of the United States and I fulfilled a dream of having my own bird feeder. We get downies all the time, and they are fearless. A few let me get within a few feet of them, and have shown little fear around the outdoor cats around our place. I have a three year old and she calls all woodpeckers "pecker" and downies are "little peckers" to her while the hairy, red bellied, and pileated are big peckers. 😂

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Hahahaha that is so adorable about your daughter. :)

Thank you for another great, informative video.

I really love these birds , they are so friendly , really cool video thanks .

i love seeing downys at my feeders! i’ve always wondered where they go during these cold months in minnesota 😅 downys are sooooo cute

Thank you Lesley. I have Downey at my suet feeder and entertain a couple types pf Peckers. I have actually been wondering where all my birds friends are sleeping in this Northern Ontario winter. We are having record snows. Good to know. They certainly show up daily.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

You are welcome :) It's always great to know a little bit about the other part of our bird guests lives. We are having quite a lot of snow since February came in too. Just keep snowing and snowing.

Thank you so much for sharing! You have inspired me so much over this past year, because of you I made friends with five red breasted nuthatches, two pairs - Dip & Dash and Ned & Nelly and one random male, Mr. Dare. They are so sweet! I’ve also managed to befriend a few chickadees! It’s been a wonderful journey starting to backyard bird watch! We have observed around twenty species here in our yard and coincidentally, the female downy woodpecker (I’ve named Roberta Downy Jr. lol) finally trusted me enough to take a peanut just the day before yesterday!

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Aww what a beautiful experience you are having. Good for you and I love all the names you given your birds, Roberta Downy Jr. is especially clever and cute haha!

@fairieswearboots89

Жыл бұрын

@@LesleytheBirdNerd thank you!! I look forward to watching more of your content, I have learned so much from it! All the best from the prairies!

Wonderful video Lesley! I watch Downys at my feeders everyday. And I've wondered about this. Although I'm in Oregon and our winters aren't nearly as cold or snowy as Canada.

Thanks for always sharing the best content, keep up with the great work 👌👍

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement 🥰

It's great to see your videos Lesley!..

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Raymond. Have a great night

@raymondjones7489

Жыл бұрын

@@LesleytheBirdNerd you too!!😊

Thanks Lesley! I didn't know about nesting holes.

Love these little guys and gals no surprise to me that they roost alone as they are probably one of the most territorial little birds (well after hummingbirds) in that should a downy see another downy they either chase each other off, have some sort of climb off social competition and or if the weather is bad or only a lower hierarchy downy sees the other they will hide and stay outside the line of sight of the other bird. Lots of antics from these guys on really cold days we have seen up to 6 all hiding from each other and or sneaking into the suet feeder from the other direction of the dominant bird.

@LesleytheBirdNerd

Жыл бұрын

Oh my gosh that is so adorable and funny. They are funny to watch, the most I've ever seen together at once 3, two males and a female. The males fighting for her attention, it was the cutest.

Wow, this is absolutely🪶fascinating💕 Thank you for sharing this with us❤!!~*

🤗🥰❤️🤗🥰❤️