A Day on Merganser Lake
Woodpeckers bang their bills on objects for a variety of reasons, such as looking for food, hollowing out a hole for nesting, and proclaiming their territory. To proclaim their territory, they find an object that is particularly loud, such as a hollow branch, side of a house or chimney flashing. This guy (you can tell it’s a guy from the red throat) found a hollow branch in my side yard for that purpose. I posted a photo of a female sapsucker (sans red throat) not too long ago and included a classic bit from The Honeymooners. Click here for that post.
Birds of New England.com 
Your post are beautiful and informative. Could you explain why different birds are using my humming bird feeders for drinking? Started with a chickadee, then had finches. They are enjoying the sweet water!! I live in West Dover Vt. Thank you Laur Linley.
On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 6:54 AM Birds of New England.com wrote:
> Chris Bosak posted: ” Photo by Chris Bosak A male yellow-bellied sapsucker > perches on a dead tree branch in New England, June 2020. Merganser Lake. A > Day on Merganser Lake Woodpeckers bang their bills on objects for a variety > of reasons, such as looking for food, hollo” >
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Thanks for writing! Birds like a variety in their diet and sugar water is a good supplement for many birds. Downy woodpeckers often sip from hummingbird feeders as well. Orioles also like nectar and, as you probably know, there are oriole feeders that resemble hummingbird feeders. The ratio of sugar to water is a bit different for orioles. Thanks again for writing!
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