In the last hour I have had visits from the following  kinds of woodpeckers in my yard:

• Downy Woodpeckers
• Hairy Woodpeckers
• Pileated Woodpeckers
• Red-Bellied Woodpeckers
  and
• Yellow-Shafted Flickers

I normally also have Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers around, but I believe my local crew has already migrated south. In short, my yard is woodpecker friendly. In addition to the the obvious suet feeders, I never remove dead trees unless they threaten to fall on my home. Dead trees provide nesting locations, and food for all of my woodpecker friends (with the exception of the sapsuckers). In turn these birds with all their newly created holes create lots of habitat for many other animals. Oh yes, my local bear population also appreciates my suet feeders!

But That Is Not Me!

Yes, Hairy the “Hairy Woodpecker” is the star of a new children’s book. In the book, Hairy, visits his forest sky friends … other northern forest birds … and asks what they do! (pdf book excerpt). Over the course of 32 pages, Hairy learns much about his friends.

In the meantime, you may have noticed the new section of this blog (see top menubar) “Birding With Children. I will give away a copy of the book, But That Is Not Me, to the person who submits the best idea for “birding with children” via the comments section of that page (i.e. not this web page).

But That Is Not Me! will be available for purchase at a cost of $12 via this web site and Amazon by October 15th.