THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 4\ 
The distant call of a Hairy Woodpecker announces he is on his way 
toward a breakfast of suet. A minute later, with an impressive swoop, 
Hairy lands well up the tree. For a moment he is perfectly still. He then 
decides all is well, and slowly begins to hitch himself backward down the 
tree, now on one side, now on the other, until he reaches the suet. Some- 
times his courage fails him upon seeing the camera, but this time he con- 
tinues on and is soon enjoying a meal of suet. A second later as the shutter 
clicks, shy Hairy has flown, leaving me to wonder if his impression is 
registered on the film. 
Downy Woodpecker is not nearly so shy as his bigger brother. He 
comes to the suet feeder many times during the day and allows a person to 
come within a few feet of him before deserting his repast. Downy presents 
one difficulty for the photographer. While partaking of his meal, he bobs 
his head so rapidly that on the negative his head appears several times. Once 
in a while a Downy will have a quarrel (generally verbal) with a Hairy 
over the possessive rights on the suet. Hairy is usually victorious. 
A group of four Brown Creepers made my feeder their winter quarters. 
And though they evidently at first knew little about suet, they soon learned 
its food value. I have often stood near the suet and seen a Brown Creeper 
fly from the top of one tree to the base of the suet tree, apparently unaware 
of my presence. However they are very sharp eyed when seeing things 
close at hand. Many times I’ve watched them riddle a store of suet which 
some provident Nuthatch has hid in the bark. Brown Creepers furnish a 
good subject for photography. 
A few Blue Jays came to the suet, while none come to the small station. 
But as soon as I had put the shelf between the windows, they became 
regular customers. At the landing of a Blue Jay on the shelf, all the other 
birds quickly vamoosed, leaving him in full possession of the feeder. Blue 
Jays preferred sunflower seeds and swallowed them eagerly. After filling 
their throats, they would often carry away six or seven crosswise in their 
bills. One afternoon I heard a loud knocking at the side of the house. 
Investigation proved it to be a Blue Jay on the edge of the shelf, hammer- 
ing away at a sunflower seed stuck between his feet. They never quarreled 
among themselves, but each one would await his turn, perched on the 
house or a nearby tree. 
The beautiful Cardinals made frequent visits to the shelf. Sunflower 
seeds were their favorite, and they often spent much time searching for 
them when mixed with cracked corn and other grains. Ihe Cardinals did 
not hammer open the seeds, as did the others, but expertly shucked them 
out. This was an interesting process to see. As long as I remained quiet 
and made no quick movements, I could watch the behavior of these birds, 
but a sudden motion would send them flying into the bushes. 
Two Slate-colored Juncos came infrequently, and this was only in 
severe weather. hey preferred to get their meals from seeds spilled on 
the ground by birds on the shelf. 
