Downy Woodpecker

Had a golden moment when she landed, and given the low lighting it was

a miracle how still she held for me. She even picked a bare section

of branch. I offered her peanut butter suet as a token of appreciation.

Nice, C.G.! Are thopse rain drops stuck to the branches? That's an added bonus!

Yep. It was a miserable day, but that made for natural saturation of the branch structure, and as you noted a few raindrops to ice the cake. I have a male / female pair that visits my feeder about three times a day. I'm currently working on tweaking feeder placement for the best shots. This one is cleaner than some of my previous attempt, but still needs some work on camera angle.

I have a pair that comes to my yard daily, too. My suggestion would be to do what I've done:

 

Find a branch/area you think they'd be well photographed in. For a few days straight, smear chunky peanut butter on the REAR of the branch, away from where you've pre-decided would be the best camera angle (this will keep the peanut butter out of the image and have him face you).

 

They'll find it in no time, and check there first for good eating - ESPECIALLY if you remove their regular suet or whatever you're giving them. Reel 'em in!

Ok, I like the idea, but I have a qicked squirrel problem. I have a feeling that the rodents would get all of it before the birds had a chance. The woodpecker couple shows up ~ 3 times a day, and the squirrels are there almost constantly.

 

I'm putting out a new hummingbird feeder tomorrow, so wish me luck on that adventure...