Peanuts top woodpeckers' menu

Two species of woodpeckers come into their own in winter. The dramatic black and white feathers of downy and hairy woodpeckers add contrast to even the drabbest day. No matter what the weather, these two "hammerheads" keep to a regular schedule of visits to back-yard bird feeders.

Downy woodpeckers are the smallest and most common woodpeckers, while the larger hairy woodpeckers are less commonly seen. But these two species look so similar that you may have both visiting your feeders without realizing it.

One way to tell them apart is by size. Hairies are much larger than downies and have much longer beaks. Of course, it's easiest to note these differences when you see the two species together.

(Telling male woodpeckers from females is even easier. Males are the ones with a spot of red feathers on the back of the head. The size and shape of these red badges vary among individuals. In fact, researchers say woodpeckers recognize each other by those red feather patterns.)

Although they look alike, downies and hairies have very different styles. Where downies are imperturbable as they intently hammer out a meal, the edgier hairies fly nervously back and forth before landing for a quick feed.

Woodpecker magnet

Starting last summer, several families of both species began putting my feeders on their daily dining circuit. It was a bit out of the ordinary for an urban back yard to host large numbers of woodpeckers, because these tree-clinging birds prefer woodlands with dead or dying trees, which have cavities for roosting and niches for harboring insects. So what attracted all those woodpeckers last summer and keeps bringing them back this winter?

In a word: peanuts.

Woodpeckers seem to be crazy for peanuts and make numerous visits each day to pull out small pieces of nuts, eating them on the spot or flying off to hide them for later.

The downy is a methodical little bird, clinging to a hanging feeder for minutes at a time, slowly pecking and swallowing nut pieces. The hairy woodpecker needs to work up its nerve before each visit, loudly "chinking" from a nearby tree before dropping down to eat. If startled, downies simply scoot around to the opposite side of a feeder, but hairies dash away.

Suet is another woodpecker favorite. Suet provides an energy boost, which helps sustain the birds through the short, cold days and long winter nights.

Feeders aren't the whole story, however, since woodpeckers glean most of their daily diet from trees, pecking out insect eggs and larvae burrowed in bark or wood. No matter what they offer, feeders only temporarily concentrate the birds, who then move off to forage more widely.

Right now, downy and hairy woodpeckers are actively involved in early courtship activities. You may hear them calling back and forth or see males chasing females around tree trunks. I'm hoping this midwinter activity will result in another spectacular woodpecker summer in my back yard.

Val Cunningham, a St. Paul nature writer, can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.