Project Feederwatch Update

Cedar Waxwing

Today was about my best day ever for the project feederwatch.  I had seen cedar waxwings on Friday and I hoped they would come back on the weekend when I could count them.  This morning, a red bellied woodpecker drew my attention.  I stopped my house cleaning chores (no resistance to that) and looked out the window.  The redbellied woodpecker was eating seeds from the feeder.  Up in the branches of the crabapple trees I saw a dozen cedar waxwings.  Bingo!  One flew to the white  oak next to the deck. I tilted my head to look up there and holy smoke, there was a flock!  I counted 27.  I counted again and got 48.  I counted a third time and got 62 cedar waxwings.  It was amazing to see all this life and business in a yard that would typically be dying and sterile at this time of year.  Watching these birds is so cool I don't think I can live without a bird feeder for the rest of my life.  I looked in the pond and saw a dozen waxwings riding the ice floes and drinking water.  Soon I hairy woodpecker came to the suet on the deck.  From the east a downy woodpecker came hopping closer.  The difference in size between the two woodpeckers is easy to see when they are right next to each other.  Before I could finish that thought, a pileated woodpecker clumsily flew in and scattered the woodpeckers and all the other birds away.  The male pileated woodpecker looked over the situation.  Tilting his head from all angles, he eyes the mesh bag of suet.  He looked at how it was attached.  I suspect he wanted to untie the bag and carry it away.  He flew to the post and looked some more.  Eventually he took a peck.  He used too much force and the hanging mesh bag of suet flew around like a tether ball.  It was hilarious.  He looked over the situation for a few minutes and took another peck using much less force this time.  He adjusted his position four times and just couldn't seem to get comfortable.  After about five minutes he flew to my bird feeding post and sampled the suet cake.  He flew into the woods giving that woody woodpecker call as he left.  Results for this weekend:  Pileated woodpecker-1, Hairy woodpecker-2, Downy woodpecker-2, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Black capped chickadee-6, House finch-2, white breasted nuthatch-3, American Crow-3, Blue jay-1,  Cardinal-2, Cedar Waxwing-62, Dark eyed Junco-3