Woodpeckers Eat Suet

The two bird feeders: one filled with rendered deer fat, the other with raw slabs, have been visited almost continuously by a variety of woodpeckers. The most fancy is a Red-bellied woodpecker that actually has a red head, with no red on its belly. The others are small Downy woodpeckers and larger Hairy woodpeckers both of which also have red marking on their heads.

Hairy Woodpecker Eating Rendered Suet

Another View of a Hairy Woodpecker

The Same Hairy Woodpecker That Doesn't Seem to Have Any Red on Its Head

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Better View of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker's Head

A Downey Woodpecker Eating Raw Suet That Disappears Much More Slowly

Each camera setup captured thousands of photos in less than five hours and the above are representative. The birds of a specie look so similar that it is difficult to ascertain how many different birds were involved. The feeder in the last photo, which is right outside our kitchen window, has one or another Downey woodpecker almost continuously from dawn to dusk. Occasionally, a chickadee or starling get chances to take a few nibbles.