after cleaning, i've re-hung my tube and suet feeders, and among the first
diners were an entire family (or two) of northern flickers... in the photos
of the gallery, you can see two of the four (male adult, "chick") >and< a
male downy woodpecker feeding directly from a tube feeder... for what it's
worth, all have partaken from the suet (which changes regularly, from "high
energy" to "peanut surprise" to "berry treat", etc), but for whatever reason
they seem to prefer the "premium" sunflower chips...

as well, you can see the male adult flicker feeding the "chick" (which is
the same size as dad) regurgitated seed from the tube...

is this normal? i've always understood both flickers and downys are into
insect protein, and had not heard either would eat seed, much less
preferentially feed seed to youngsters...

00 caren
http://www.parkgallery.org
george davis creek, north fork