We really are currently overrun by woodpeckers. When I went into the kitchen this morning, there was a Downy woodpecker clinging to the screen door begging for food. I’m pretty sure they are all breeding, too and that’s why they are so hungry. They are feeding the kids. Woodpeckers are very good parents and keep their babies around until they are fully adult — and most woodpecker parents are monogamous. They will also feed each other’s young if they are needed — rare in the world of the wild.

Actually we are completely overrun by doves and woodpeckers. The other birds barely get a snack. There’s not much I can do about it. You really can’t train wild birds to be nicer to each other.

One of the odder results of this is that the little birds have given up trying to fight the woodpeckers and doves for food (even the squirrels are getting tired of fighting those fat doves) and have taken to eating our flowers. Really munching down on them. The Goldfinch are particularly fond of petunias — especially the leaves — and something is chomping down on the begonias. Squirrels? We have so many and all the little girls seem to be pregnant again. How many times do they breed per season?

Categories: #animals, #Birds, #gallery, #Photography, #Squirrel, Goldfinch

Tags: #Birds, #Photography, #Squirrels, Goldfinch, humor, Marilyn Armstrong