Got a record 14 species to the feeders this morning, including our first "official" visit for the Hairy Woodpecker, not seen in the backyard before. These pics aren't from today but these are the visitors to the feeder this morning. Hairy Woodpeckers and Downey Woodpeckers are very hard to tell apart--unless you see them together, as the Hairy Woodpecker is much larger. Otherwise, you need to look at the overall size and especially the size of the bill with the Hairy, as it is more like the overall width of the head. The Downey is just much smaller overall. Anyway, interesting day as the Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles both just showed up this week--a definite herald of the spring. I am not a huge fan, as they, like the European Starlings, are a bunch of bullies, pushing the other birds out (and they eat a lot of seed!!!). Anyway, quite the backyard party.
