My Choice for "Best-Dressed"

Drum roll, please.... or maybe another kind of drumming would be fitting!  Here's a link to listen to the drumming and various other sounds my choice for best dressed bird makes.

And the winner for best-dressed bird at my feeder is -- the Red-bellied Woodpecker!

Isn't he a beauty?  I always get a thrill when I see one at our feeders or in our woods.  Part of the allure for me might be that I remember how excited my mother got years ago, when one began appearing at her suet feeder in south-eastern Pennsylvania.  While they are quite common there now, they didn't used to be.  The only info I was able to find about their spreading range was this -- "The Red-bellied Woodpecker has been extending its' range northward over the last 100 years".  I don't have records to know when they started coming to my mom's feeder but I would guess sometime in the 60's.  I know we didn't have them in northeastern Pennsylvania when I first moved here in the late 70's, but in the years since then they have arrived and become more common. 

Here's a look at the Red-bellied from all angles - from one day when my suet log was empty and he was determined to check each hole and find any morsel he could!

This one is a male because he has red all the way along his head.  A female does have red on her head, too, but only on the back.

The Red-bellied woodpecker is probably one of the birds most often called by the wrong name - since it's easy to see their red-heads, but not very easy to see the red belly they are named for. Click here to see a photo of a Red-headed woodpecker, which is much more rare.  If you see one of those, let me know!

 Yep, it's red under there!

Thanks to everyone who commented on FB (and Sara in the comments here) to choose their favorite from my dozen contestants.  Goldfinches were the top pick, and there were votes for Cardinals, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Hummingbirds, and White-throated Sparrows.  No one else choose my favorite, so I'm going to post some more photos so I can show you just how gorgeous these birds are!

Look at those tail feathers!

 And to show you that I did fill the suet log for him, and he had a feast, plus some food "to go"!

Here's full view of his beautiful head.

Bye-bye.... see you again soon, I hope!

Look closely and you can see his red belly in this photo, too!