Sovereign

27 JANUARY, 2025

Over the weekend, I took advantage of the temperatures actually being above freezing and spent a lot of time adding new bird feeders & replenishing the ones already in my yard, then patiently waiting for old and new feathered friends to arrive and make use of them. This beautiful girl was one of those new friends.

While I have seen the local Red-Bellied Woodpecker many times by now, including that morning, I had no idea that there was a Downy Woodpecker in the area until she perched in this tree. The moment she landed, the Juncos & Goldfinches who had been fluttering around the branches scattered away, so she reigned supreme in the tree the entire time that she was there. As she made her way around, she kept hiding her head behind the branches then popping back out, as if she was playing Peek-a-boo. I nearly squealed when I saw her swoop down to nibble on the fresh suet cake, only to hop back up the tree with food still on the tip of her beak. When I first laid eyes on her, I was sitting across the yard on my beloved butterfly bench; by the time she flew away, I had been able to kneel down on the ground and slowly creep within less than six feet of the tree without her spooking. After she left, I continued to kneel there in the grass, the knees of my jeans wet & muddy from my attempt to get a better view, marveling at the fact that I had just happened to be outside when she decided to visit.

I don't know if she was pleased with the accommodations or not, but I do know that, as far as I'm concerned, she is now the queen of this realm and I will certainly be making sure that there is always plenty of suet available in case she decides to grace me with her presence once again.