Yellow-bellied sapsucker in the backyard

Winter has been fairly uneventful in the yard. No unusual sightings. We have had some signs of spring here on Overlook Circle, including a couple of yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the maple trees and the return of chipping sparrows. Goldfinches are starting to turn bright yellow. Red-winged blackbirds are back, so I had to hang the suet log horizontally to prevent them from eating up all my suet!

Speaking of suet, I discovered I could save a lot of money by purchasing year’s worth from an online supplier. The suet I use is called Attractor and it’s made here in Minnesota. Woodpeckers LOVE it! I used to buy it locally but it’s fairly expensive so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get it at almost 50% savings (I do still buy most of my bird supplies locally.) I can go through a case in one month because I have so many woodpeckers, so I bought 12 cases from Woodpecker-Feeder.com and got free shipping buy buying in quantity. And now I have plenty on hand to keep the woodpeckers happy.

There are also some winter residents still hanging around, especially with this impending winter storm … many juncos and also some pine siskins and redpolls. Yesterday, in anticipation of bluebirds arriving, I installed some Gilbertson nest boxes to replace the Peterson nest boxes. I’m interested to see how the Gilbertson style works compared to Peterson. Still anxiously looking for bluebirds!

Winter Storm Warning April 10 2013

We are under a Winter Storm Warning so the feeders are quite busy, the birds know it’s coming! We need the moisture and I’m hoping the garden will do much better this year. Even native plants were stressed by last year’s drought. It seems that spring will never arrive …