Woodpeckers at the Feeders

Here are couple of pictures of the two woodpeckers that have been coming back to the backyard to feed on suet and peanut butter.

The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest and most common American woodpecker. A male Downy has a red patch on the back of its head. A female has a black patch.

I believe these two Downey woodpeckers are a pair. They take turn coming to feed. I have never seen them together at the feeders.

Peanut Nuggets

I was looking for an alternative to the block suet. I was looking for something that was less messy feeding wild birds in my backyard.

I saw this Peanut Nuggets by Garden Treasures at Lowe’s. The bird food is marketed as a “high-energy food with suet for wild birds.” The package also states “no waste, no mess.” The nuggets are not cheap compared to regular block suet.

I also bought a new bird feeder to put the nuggets in. It is the “Garden Treasures Stainless Steel Nugget Feeder.” It is made of stainless-steel wire mesh and is designed for shelled peanuts or sunflower seeds. The birds can feed by hanging over the entire mesh tube or perch on the two metal perches.

The listed ingredients for the Peanut Nuggets are rendered beef suet, roasted peanuts, corn oats & raisins. Compare that to Garden Treasures’ Peanut Treat Suet listed ingredients of rendered beef suet, roasted peanuts, peanut flavoring, corn and oats.

Nutritionally, the Peanut Nuggets provides 10% crude protein, 20% crude fat and 4% crude fiber. The Garden Treasures’ Peanut Treat Suet provides 8% crude protein, 35% crude fat and 10% crude fiber.

The first day that I put out the feeder with the Peanut Nuggets it rained. The nuggets got wet and expended a bit. I didn’t notice too many birds going for the nuggets but they continued to go for the peanut butter and sunflower seed in the other feeders.

But a woodpecker did come to visit that first day and stay a little while to feed. But I haven’t seen it back since.

It’s been about a week since I’d put out the nuggets and it is only half eaten. It has been rainy most of the last week so the nuggets stayed moist most of the time. That may have something to do with the low popularity of the nuggets. I will reevaluate the nuggets after I try it again when the weather is drier.

But based on the price and nutritional value, the regular block suet is probable a more economical way for me to feed wild birds, despite the mess, and definitely better nutritionally for birds.