Red-Bellied Woodpecker female on March 29, 2018, #422-12.
Hello folks! I hope this post finds you all well. I was surprised this morning to see my first Red-Bellied Woodpecker and Purple Finch females. I know they have been here but they haven’t been feeding when I was watching. I was glad to see them so I could get a few photos.
House Finch female on March 29, 2018, #422-8.
When I first saw the female House Finch I had been looking at a female House Sparrow, which I didn’t recognize at first either. I know that sounds pretty funny, huh? Not recognizing a bird as common as a House Sparrow.
House Sparrow female on March 29, 2018, #422-3.
I didn’t recognize her because I never paid much attention before to their color pattern, especially up close. On the south side of the house, there are usually a lot of males but no females. I guess maybe they don’t stay together until mating season.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker female on March 29, 2018, #422-13.
The female Red-Bellied Woodpecker lacks the red crown of the males but has a red nape and the orange-red color above her bill.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker female on March 29, 2018.
She was flying from the tree in front of the window then back down to the feeding area in front of the window. She went back and forth several times like she was picking up food and taking it back to the fork in the tree.
Purple Finch female on March 29, 2018, #422-6.
The female Purple Finch certainly doesn’t have any purple color on her anywhere. One might mistake her for a sparrow. She does have the same wing bars and white edged wings and similar tail as the males.
Purple Finch female on March 29, 2018.
AHHHH! She has a sunflower seed that she can crack open easily with her strong bill.
Purple Finch male on March 29, 2018.
There several males feeding this morning but I only saw two females.
The Grackles were back in full force again and I was wondering if I should put seed in the feeder in the “other yard”. It was almost empty but I knew the Grackles would eat most of the seed and the smaller birds wouldn’t have a chance. I put food out anyway then poured out another gallon under the tree in front of the flower bed in front of the window. As you can see in the photo, there are two Red-Winged Blackbird males. They barely have any red showing on their wings until they fly. Non-breeding males lack the red. A few days ago I took a few photos but they looked weird. It looked like they had snow on their backs. That look is also associated with non-breeding males…
I must have flipped! I am studying and taking photos of birds instead of plants! I need to get back to adding more plant pages. I am in the “S’s” now and am ready to add the Saxifraga stolonifera (Strawberry Begonia), Scaevola (Fan Flower), Schlumbergera truncata (Christmas Cactus) then the 13 Sedums… 🙂
Until next time, be well, stay warm, be thankful and stay positive. As always, GET DIRTY!
The Belmont Rooster 
That red bellied woodpecker is a pretty thing.
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Yes, Jane. She is a beauty. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
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Our Red-Bellied Woodpeckers appear to do the same as you described. If they have plentiful food at a feeding site, they appear to take it to trees and hide it in the bark for later. Other birds seem to do the same thing. I wonder how much seed in hidden in the bark of our trees. 🙂
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Hmmmm… Maybe I should go check the tree to see if she hid her food just for curiosity. I was surprised to read how many birds hide food for later when I was doing research. Woodpeckers will also take harder seed and put it under bark then peck on it, kind of using the bark as a hammer. Isn’t it interesting how nature adapts to make use of what’s available? Thanks for the comment, Jim.
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I would love to get woodpeckers in our garden. I am sorry that the birds distracted you from your plants but I enjoyed looking at them.
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