Author: Martin R
Dr. Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist, journal editor, skeptic, atheist, lefty liberal, bookworm, boardgamer, geocacher and father of two. View all posts by Martin R
Aardvarchaeology – by Dr. Martin Rundkvist
Scandinavian archaeology, history, skepticism, books and music
Nice photos! Thank you for sharing. Do you make your own suet cakes?
LikeLike
I looked at photos on Google and not all of them seem to feature the buff color on the breast and forehead. Is this sex, age, or regional variation?
LikeLike
Thank you! I buy the suet balls for the birds. (There’s birdseed in them too. Blackbirds often sit around under the balls and pick up the seeds as they fall.) But I have been known to make suet-based puddings for human consumption.
LikeLike
Or could it be seasonal variation? Doesn’t seem to be sex at any rate. This bird is a female as she lacks a red spot on her neck.
LikeLike
Nice, we dont have that type here..we put shredded breads outside every evening and about 15 types of birds come for their meals.. 🙂
LikeLike
Just catching on some of your earlier missives. Great entertainment over cold winters in interior Alaska: watching the several kinds of woodpeckers, chickadees, and Canada jays demolish the column of beef suet (encased in a chicken wire tube). But, something not experienced before in 50 years watching is the sight of a male hairy woodpecker teaching his young (3 last summer) how to feed from a seed feeder with a narrow, slippery plastic ledge. Much squawking and angst; but, eventually, they all learned how to hang upside down and munch on black oil sunflower seeds. 🙂
LikeLike