Discussions

is it common to see a red bellied woodpecker around here at this time of year? We had one join our blue jays and chickadees at the feeder today. Thought it was a young woodpecker, but the checkered black and white, with less red on its head, lead us to this species. It was clearly by itself. any info would be appreciated.

Did you happen to get a picture?? I have yellow belly nuthatches, white belly nuthatches, and two different kinds of woodpeckers - - one with the red marks on the head and one without and a much smaller version as well. Never heard of a red bellied one tho. About two or three years ago during a snow storm we were visited by the red/black and yellow/black Grosbeaks and with them was a bright red Cardinal - - just a little out of his range. We live in the Swan River Valley area, so see lots of different birds at the feeders.  
 
Edited by silverhoarder, 2017-01-09 19:05:13

motomom said "is it common to see a red bellied woodpecker around here at this time of year? We had one join our blue jays and chickadees at the feeder today. Thought it was a young woodpecker, but the checkered black and white, with less red on its head, lead us to this species. It was clearly by itself. any info would be appreciated. "

it's a little far north than what their range is, but I think they have been seeing them in Wpg.  
 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/id

silverhoarder said "Did you happen to get a picture?? I have yellow belly nuthatches, white belly nuthatches, and two different kinds of woodpeckers - - one with the red marks on the head and one without and a much smaller version as well. Never heard of a red bellied one tho. About two or three years ago during a snow storm we were visited by the red/black and yellow/black Grosbeaks and with them was a bright red Cardinal - - just a little out of his range. We live in the Swan River Valley area, so see lots of different birds at the feeders.     Edited by silverhoarder, 2017-01-09 19:05:13"

on the head of the Hairy Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker indicates it is male. The Hairy WP is quite a bit larger than the Downy WP. I will post some photos of the Woodpeckers and also the Red breasted Nuthatch and the White breasted Nuthatch.

the difference in size of the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers.  
 
http://www.audubon.org/news/how-tell-hairy-woodpecker-downy-woodpecker

heard of a yellow-bellied Nuthatch. I searched on the internet and couldn't find one. I know there is a Eurasian or Wood Nuthatch. They are very similar to our Red-breasted Nuthatch but in Europe and Asia.  
 
 
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-eurasian-nuthatch.html

Theres a free app called Merlin that is put out by Cornel University. It has a feature where you can take a picture of a bird and it will identify it. It really works.

motomom said "is it common to see a red bellied woodpecker around here at this time of year? We had one join our blue jays and chickadees at the feeder today. Thought it was a young woodpecker, but the checkered black and white, with less red on its head, lead us to this species. It was clearly by itself. any info would be appreciated. "

Woodpeckers have Red heads. Here's a link to photo.  
 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/id  
 
Edited by CarolynJ, 2017-01-10 10:53:20

Is there a birdwatchgroup here in Brandon? Or something similar like naturestudies? I'm an amateur but eager to learn.

Ok, the little fellow was back today, and thanks to your link, it is definitely and woody or hairy woodpecker. ill need to due more looking. his beak looked quite big, so im thinking a hairy. but ill check tail feathers next time.  
we also had some small birds, brown and white, with amazing pink on chest. like they got stained from red berries. Only there one day, so waiting to see more of them. any ideas on that type?

My daughter loves the birds. I was wonder what kinda seed and feeder I should get for my house to attract more. I've never had a bird feeder in my life

Read "Backyard Birdwatching in Winter" (google it) and it will get you primed on what to do. It depends what type of birds you want to attract. Then put out the right feed for those birds.

Orion's-Belt said "My daughter loves the birds. I was wonder what kinda seed and feeder I should get for my house to attract more. I've never had a bird feeder in my life "

to Peavey Mart. They have all kinds of seed for birds and lots of bird feeders too. Sometimes there is a representative from Sun Country Farms. They can help you decide what you need. Here's a link to the website.  
 
http://www.suncountryfarms.com/

Unfortunately the Brandon Naturalist Society disbanded a few years back, and they were the go-to for field trips and learning opportunities.  
There are some people, including myself, who are talking about starting another group to replace what we lost with BNS.  
We will see what happens this summer.  
I consider myself relatively skilled at bird identification and would be happy to teach/help anyone develop those skills. I also coordinate the Brandon Christmas Bird Count, which is a great volunteer opportunity to meet other like-minded people and spend a day looking for birds.  
Feel free to contact me about any bird questions.  
Yes it is rare to have Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the Brandon area. We had one on the Christmas Bird Count for only the 3rd time in the last 36 years. A very good sighting. The bird I am talking about was hanging around the east-end area of town (Green Spot area).  
 
cwblyth89@gmail.com

I saw a cardinal a few years back, seems a lot of southern birds are expanding their range!

http://gbbc.birdcount.org/

ive added a few from my photos..the red bellied woodpecker is not really common in our area but they are here