Success!

Moving the feeder at the house turned out to be a fantastic idea. The new location was quickly greeted by many more birds than we had previously. And yes, finally, we have Junco's! (Where have they been? It took them awhile to get here!) I saw one when I was out working on the deck feeding on the ground nowhere near the feeders. But later that afternoon, I spotted them right under the safflower feeder just like last year.

But, my favorite weekend visitor was one I had been trying to lure to the feeders all summer. The Red Bellied Woodpecker lives in a snag in the woods by the house. I see them flying overhead a lot during the summer but never had one come to the feeder station...UNTIL YESTERDAY! I used to get these guys at my feeders frequently where I used to live but in 9 months at this house, had not been able to get them here. I attribute this directly to the move of the feeders. Now if I could just get the Pileated to come to my suet feeder! I see a couple that live deeper in the woods that come to the edge periodically and feed off of some of the lower snags. Maybe they will grace us with their presence and I can get a picture. They are fairly common here but one still can't help but stop and marvel at these creatures when confronted with their size and presence.

The red shouldered hawk is still around in the woods. His calls were noticeable further back in the woods and I see him occasionally soaring over the neighborhood when I am coming home from work, but haven't seen him perched in his favorite tree in the back yard for a couple of weeks now. Too bad because I would love for him to catch the chipmunk that is hanging out in the flower beds munching on the lilly bulbs.