A Hairy Woodpecker gloms on to a suet cake. The red mark on its head identifies it as a male.

Hairy Woodpeckers and and their smaller cousins Downy Woodpeckers are abundant around here, bold around people, and sometimes comical in their maneuvers.

Here’s a short video from last night: a Hairy Woodpecker visits the platform feeder and a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird sips sugar water nearby. Both are females.

I bought the platform feeder recently to try to accommodate as many different kinds of backyard birds as possible.

It is made of recycled plastic, has coated steel cables and a metal hook for hanging and a metal screen bottom.

On the menu: raw peanuts, suet nuggets, and Audubon Workshop Premium Mix for Fruit and Nut Lovers.

On the menu for us humans: sausage on the grill, wild rice, collard greens from our garden cooked with bacon, onions, apple cider vinegar.

The view on Friday evening.

I love summer.

Recommended: Woodlink Audubon Going Green Platform Feeder

Recommended: Aspects HummZinger HighView 12 oz Hanging Hummingbird Feeder

For size comparison, a photo of a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker, taken last winter…

The larger of two look alikes, the Hairy Woodpecker is a small but powerful bird that forages along trunks and main branches of large trees. It wields a much longer bill than the Downy Woodpecker’s almost thornlike bill. Hairy Woodpeckers have a somewhat soldierly look, with their erect, straight-backed posture on tree trunks and their cleanly striped heads.