We haven't seen our little female downy woodpecker in several months. I have been feeling somewhat heartbroken because of being so certain she was eaten by a hawk or crow. She was with us for quite awhile before completely disappearing.
Tonight as I was washing dishes, I happened to look up at the mesh bag of peanuts and cashews hanging right outside the kitchen window and saw a familiar looking bird tail hanging down from the other side of the bag. It was getting late into the evening and the sun was going down. The finches, sparrows, blue jays and thrashers had finished eating 2 hours previously and were gone for the night.
My husband was sitting on a chair behind me and said he was sure it was Missy Woodpecker who had swooped in so suddenly with absolute assurance that there was a feeder there she is familiar with.
We snuck around to the patio door where we could get a clearer view of the other side of the mesh bag and sure enough: there was Missy, apparently still without a mate, all on her own and eating a huge amount of the nuts. She gorged herself for nearly 15 minutes before flying off into the trees in the yard.
We will see what happens tomorrow, if she shows up again, but it was definitely her. That odd marking on the side of her head is a great identifyer. Over the next day or two, if she sticks around, we should find out if she is still alone (or again alone) or if she has a mate that has returned with her.
I was so disappointed when she disappeared and now I am rejoicing that she has returned to our feeders. Hopefully she will stay for at least a few days. We will never know where she has been over the summer but are grateful she is still alive and still as cute as ever. We purchased a huge amount of winter bird seed last weekend and some more peanuts, the winter suet blocks will be out soon, so she will be well fed this winter should she decide to hang out at our place once again.
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