Lord Of The Backyard

Each type of bird has its own characteristics. Some birders believe individual birds do too. Anyway, there is one type of bird here that is the "Backyard Boss," excluding hawks, etc. It is "Red" and "Rosey" the Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Here is the current "Red."

I took this image yesterday after I filled the nut and fruit feeder. Red and Rosey love nuts. After I fill the feeders, sometimes I back off about 15 feet and watch the regulars eat and pose for an image. Normally, the chickadees and nuthatches are first. After a bit more, the titmice and downy woodpeckers arrive. They all readily fly to the feeders while I am watching.
 
Not Red or Rosey though. They call out a "chuck" noise as they move from tree to tree on their approach to the feeder. If I am there, they catch an eyeful of me, and fly off. The above picture is of Red checking me out before he flew off.
 
Now, if the feeder is empty and Red or Rosey see me outside, they will chuck at me from the woods. Early last Spring, before an ornamental cherry tree opened its leaves near the driveway, both Red and Rosey landed together in the tree and gave me a brutal chucking. Astonished that they would work together like this so near me, I stood there watching them as they sat there chucking at me. Finally, I caught on, said OK, OK, and filled up the fruit and nut feeder. That was it. The bosses told me off and I remedied my deficiency.
 
(Originally published on December 13, 2009)