In the past few weeks I've observed courtship behavior in several bird species, including Carolina wrens, mourning doves, northern cardinals, chickadees and titmice. Yesterday a female cowbird showed up with one of two male cowbirds that have been around for a couple of days:

Before long, a second male came to the feeder and landed in between the female and the first male, who then flared his tail and spread his wings while the incoming male extended its body with bill pointed skyward. The female went on with feeding behind the tube:

For a minute or so the two males alternately ate seeds and postured with extended bodies and bills pointing up, as they are doing in this (kind of fuzzy) photo:

After awhile, the first male walked around the tray toward the female until his head was very close to hers:

A short time after this, the female flew off to a tree branch, with the first male following and the second male a few seconds behind him. I could see them all on a branch, both males continuing their posturing.

Today, two male cowbirds came early. Later, I saw the female and one of the males here together, feeding together at two different feeders and on the ground. I'm not sure everything is settled yet. The female is still moving away a short distance when the male comes closer -- but so far I've observed only one male pursuing her. This was the first time I'd seen multiple cowbird suitors around the same female at once.

[All photos by Cathie Bird, April 18, 2022]

Yesterday while getting in some porch time, I got this photo of a male downy woodpecker sitting on a white oak branch. I saw at least four more downys and one male hairy woodpecker while I was out there, and heard some of their calls. Earlier in the day -- on my way back from town -- I saw a female pileated woodpecker as I came up the driveway.

Downy woodpecker (male) on April 14, 2022.  [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Scarlet Tanager male (Piranga olivacea), April 13, 2022  [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Last year around this time, preparations for new fiber optic internet service in this area led to a significant removal of trees near power lines, and I've been concerned about how that has or will affect birds and other wildlife in the holler.

On a snowy day, not long after a lot of trees had been cut, a really puffed up yellow-bellied sapsucker visited the feeder area three times. He began his third visit clinging to a porch post for about 12 minutes, much of that time with his head tucked under his wing, while other birds flew in and out.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker and male downy woodpecker (at feeder), February 16, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

I wondered if one of those trees had been his. He eventually went to one of the suet feeders (as he had on earlier visits) and ate for awhile before flying off.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), February 16, 2021. [Photo: Cathie Bird]

I watched for him over the next few weeks, hoping he'd done okay. Almost a month later, I saw him gleaning bark on a tree near my house. so, I'm watching who's here and who's not out there with greater awareness this year. After last year's chainsaw massacre, I'm especially happy to see so many woodpeckers.

The holler is home to several woodpecker species -- downy, hairy, red-bellied, pileated, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and northern flicker -- I've seen all of these, for sure -- and likely the red-headed woodpecker. I saw one only once, just after I moved here 22 years ago.

Female Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), January 28, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Last summer the downy population seemed to explode right outside my window, with parents bringing a number of fledglings and introducing them to the suet and seed feeders. This winter I'm seeing two different females and at least one male pretty much daily.

Male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), February 2, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Just this week, I saw the first male hairy woodpecker at the feeders. The first day, he visited each of the suet feeders but was slow to actually land on one. After he failed to get much by stretching out toward the feeder from an adjacent clinging spot, he finally flew onto the suet ball feeder and stayed for awhile.

Male Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides vellosus), February 2, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

He's been back several times and has gotten better at jumping right on them. He seems to prefer the suet log. I've seen a female hairy woodpecker this winter as well. Last year I only saw hairy females until summer when one brought at least one fledgling of each sex to use the feeders.

Last year when a red-bellied woodpecker started visiting the feeders, she first ate seeds on the ground -- alongside American goldfinches, mourning doves and sparrows -- before she tried out the seed feeders. I think it's likely that the female red-bellied that I'm seeing this year is the same one. This one showed up about a month later than whoever came last winter. She went straight to the suet feeders, visiting each one in turn before settling on one to eat from.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), February 5, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

This past week she has started adding seed feeders to her visits. A couple of summers ago I saw a male red-bellied woodpecker on some trees behind the house. So far I have not seen a male near the feeders.

I've seen pileated woodpeckers near the house ever since I moved here. A few years ago, a pair of them nested close by and I got to hear young ones making their first calls. I sometimes see one at the edge of the woods near the feeders, but had never gotten a photo of anything but large dark blobs moving behind bushes until December 2021. On that day a female spent several minutes on a branch doing feather maintenance before she flew into full view and gleaned bark a few seconds on a tree trunk just beyond the porch.

Female Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatis), December 1, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Besides seeing woodpeckers by themselves, I often catch sight of them near other species, especially around my planter garden, feeders and water stations. Downys don't seem to mind chickadees or titmice sharing a feeder -- I have plenty of photos of them together -- but the arrival of a second woodpecker usually ends with one of them leaving or finding another feeder.

Downy Woodpecker and Carolina Chickadee share the suet log, January 29, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

One of my favorite woodpecker photos so far this year -- I love the look on the red-bellied woodpecker's face as she sits on the porch rail near a mourning dove.

Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Mourning Dove, January 31, 2022 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Brown creeper eating suet crumbs on my porch rail on November 29, 2021. [Photo: Cathie Bird]

I saw my first brown creeper back in the early 2000's -- not long after I moved to Tennessee -- and hadn't seen another one until November 3rd this year when one showed up at my suet feeders. It came late afternoon with a very active group of tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees and a pair of white-breasted nuthatches that baffled my eyes and had me guessing at their actual number. So many little birds at once -- I feel very lucky to have caught a glimpse at all. At first I thought it was a nuthatch but something about the color and feather pattern made me reach for my binoculars to check it out. What a happy day, seeing a creeper again!

Brown creeper at suet feeder, November 19, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Since then, I've seen it half a dozen times, and even gotten a few photos with a whole, non-blurry creeper in them! Sometimes I see it gleaning bark on a white oak tree or the stick railing on my porch. I've now seen it at each of the three styles of suet feeders, but one of its favorite spots is on the porch rail under the suet ball feeder where it cleans up the crumbs.

Brown creeper searching for crumbs under a suet ball feeder. November 24, 2021 [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Brown creeper, gleaning bark on a white oak trunk on November 18, 2021. [Photo: Cathie Bird]

Like many of the birds that visit my feeders and planter garden, the brown creeper tends to land in the same spot and visit the feeders in a specific pattern that has allowed me to anticipate where it will be -- this has allowed me to get (finally!) some fairly decent photos. It often comes between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. That's helped me add to the number of sightings, I think.