Check out these little guys, a Hairy Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker I spotted both species while birding here in central North Carolina. At first glance, Hairy Woodpeckers (pic 1) look nearly identical to a Downy (pic 2) yet are a few differences that can help you figure out what you’re looking at.
Hairy WoodpeckerDowny Woodpecker
The first big clue is size. Hairy Woodpeckers are around 9 inches long and weigh 3x as much as the Downy making them noticeably larger in size when comparing the two.
The second clue is that the Hairy Woodpeckers bill is as long as it’s slightly elongated head vs. the Downy who’s got a comparatively shorter bill size paired with a rounder head.
The third clue is habitat. Although the range and habitat preferences of the Hairy Woodpecker generally overlap that of the Downy, the Hairy is a slightly shyer bird which spends more of it’s time in the deep woods vs. our backyards. That being said, they may be enticed to visit your feeders if you offer up suet during the winter months.
Measuring a diminutive 6 inches in size, Downy Woodpeckers (pic 2) are North America’s smallest species of Woodpecker. These feisty little ones are found throughout most of North America with a range that stretches all the way from Alaska down to Florida. It lives in a variety of habitats from deep wilderness hardwood forests to suburban backyards and city parks. Here in the Tarheel State, Downys are also a familiar year round visitor to our bird feeders which is why they occasionally may be mistaken for their larger cousin, the Hairy Woodpecker.
Whichever of these sweet little black and white feathered gems may be, it’s always a treat for me to see them racing up and down the tree trunks in search of a meal. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Pleased to see that the pair of Baltimore Orioles are still visiting the feeder! They’d shown up this past December and haven’t left. I’m hoping they’ll just choose to stay here in Lillington NC and perhaps build a nest somewhere in the yard. We will see 🙂
As shown here, male Baltimore Orioles are known for their vibrant orange and black plumage, which resembles the colors of the coat of arms of Lord Baltimore, hence their name. They are also are renowned for their melodious and flute-like songs, which they use to attract mates and defend their territories. Their songs are often heard echoing through woodlands during the breeding season which begins in early May.
These birds are masters of nest construction, often weaving intricate hanging nests from plant fibers, grasses, and other materials. Their nests are commonly found hanging from the outer tips of tree branches anywhere from 30ft to 80ft up in the canopy. While they are commonly associated with the northeastern United States, Baltimore Orioles can be found across much of North America during the breeding season, ranging from the eastern and central parts of the continent to parts of the southwestern United States and even into Canada.
Baltimore Orioles typically begin their southward migration from North Carolina in late summer or early fall. Some (like this guy here) end up spending the winter in the Tarheel State. Depending on various factors such as weather conditions and food availability, their migration can start as early as August and extend through September. By October, most Baltimore Orioles will have departed from North Carolina on their journey to their wintering grounds in Central and South America. That’s a good thing because this means you’ve got plenty of time to see one before the year is through!
With as much traveling as I do throughout the year chasing birds, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t given much attention to my feathered friends right here at home. That changed in February when Michael offered to build me a bird and pollinator friendly yard. Now I’d originally envisioned something low key. Perhaps an 10×4 ft long strip of wildflowers and fruiting shrubs with a row of bird feeders skirting the row. No big deal, just a pretty strip of flowers and feeders set off to the side of my backyard.
The thing is that my better half had a far better vision for the space! This isn’t surprising given Mike’s extensive background in landscaping and his passion for gardening, yet I was blown away with the final results as this project far surpassed my expectations. Here’s how we set off with this transformation from ho-hum boring grassy lawn to a beautiful backyard bird oasis!
Here is what the yard looked like before we started the work.
The first order of business was to remove the sod from about a third of my backyard to prep for planting. We rented a sod cutter from Home Depot and got to work clearing three sections of the yard. Two areas would be for planting flowers, trees and shrubs, the third will be a dedicated vegetable garden. If you’ve never cut sod from the yard before I highly recommend that you buy or rent the most powerful machine you can afford. The idea is you want the cutter to work quickly and efficiently. Another tip is to make sure that you have help moving the sod squares out of the cut area as they can be quite heavy to carry after pushing the sod cutter all day. I’m so grateful that Michael and my son were there to get this part done. The adage “more hands make less work” applies here for sure lol!
Next up was tilling. Again, don’t skimp on the price of a rental if you can afford to do so as the more powerful machines will get the job done in half the time. Here’s a good tip: you can save money by purchasing a used high quality tiller. Use it to complete the job, clean it off and then sell it after your done. We did that and actually made an additional $50 on the resale after the fact lol!
I also recommend that you cut the sod and till the dirt on days where the soil is dry. It’s much harder to carry the sod when it’s wet and tilling muddy dirt on a rainy day isn’t the most fun lol! In addition, watch out for grubs and worms which will pop out from the freshly turned soil.
I picked up about a dozen grubs and put them on the top of my fence which the Bluebirds gobbled up immediately. A couple of happy Yellow-rumped Warblers found snacks hidden in the freshly turned dirt which was pretty cool too. Mike also found a sleepy Bumblebee snoozing in the dirt which he carefully picked up and set free so that it wouldn’t get injured by the tiller.
Next it was time to build a pergola. This was 100% Michael’s idea. I’d told him that the yard was his blank canvas so whatever he thought would look cool while serving a greater purpose would be fine with me. As it turned out this was a good move because now we’ve got a place to hang several bird feeders and a nice place to sit and enjoy the birds under the cover of semi-shade. The pergola took about 3 days for Mike to build including construction and staining. No formal plans were drawn out. Just straight out of his brain into my yard, lol! It was neat to see how the structure came together in such a short time built with nothing more than scrap wood, concrete, wood stain and willpower.
Now it was time for the fun stuff, adding plants! Although I absolutely adore my Hostas, Hydrangeas, Daffodils, Irises and Lillys, I really want this space to eventually be 90% filled with plants native to North Carolina. I also didn’t want to have to spend a tremendous amount of money to fill the garden so I turned to Facebook marketplace to see if I could score a deal or two on some new plants. As luck would have it, we ended up finding some nice native Blueberry and Elderberry bushes which we purchased from private individuals here in the Triangle. I also scavenged a few raspberry and blackberry bushes from the woods behind my house and transplanted them into the yard too. I’m really looking forward to seeing how happy the birds are going to be once these bushes start yielding fruit!
We also planted a ton of mixed wildflower seeds, scattering them by the handfuls throughout the garden. I’d tell you what species they were but unfortunately I fucked up and threw away the seed packets and have forgotten exactly what all was in there lol! It’s gonna be an incredible sight watching that array of color bloom in the backyard this summer. Hopefully once the flowers come out, I’ll be able to identify them then. In addition I thought it would be cool to see sunflowers outside my bedroom window so Mike cut out an additional bed and planted a ton of sunflowers and Zinnias too. I’m sure the neighborhood flock of Goldfinches are going to be stoked once those flowers go to seed.
Finally, it was time to plant a couple trees. I’d already purchased a Peach tree a few years ago. Unfortunately I had planted it in a dumb spot too close to my fence (rookie mistake lol) so Mike dug it up and transferred it to a better spot in the new garden where it would have plenty of space to grow. Next up was the Dogwood which had already been growing near the back corner of my yard. Again, Michael and I dug it up and transplanted into a better spot in the garden where it would thrive. I’m hoping that the berries from this tree will provide the Cardinals in my neighborhood with plenty of nutritious food later this year. Mike also picked up a beautiful little Apple tree which yielded a gorgeous cluster of blossoms shortly after planting it. The bees absolutely loved diving in and out of those flowers which was freak’n awesome!
With new plants in the ground now things were really starting to get exciting! Still there was more to do. Up next, mulch… So. Much. Mulch. 10 yards to be exact. 160 wheelbarrow fulls. Thank goodness the temperatures were in the 50s that day or we might have died from heat exhaustion haha! Shoveling, pitching and spreading. 2 people, 6 hours = super tired but incredible results!
That mulch looked awesome. I love how the black contrasts with the green plants!
Now came some finishing touches. Mike had some extra scrap wood left over from the pergola construction. Not wanting anything to go to waste, he spent a couple hours and built a bench and a small patio at the back fence. It’s a simple design with clean lines and set right at the perfect height for someone to sit and hold a camera comfortably.
To help make the birds feel at home Mike also built a couple of bird houses and installed them on top of the fence. He also picked up a few cedar versions from WalMart that were only $12 a piece so that was a great deal! It only took about a week before a family of Eastern Bluebirds and Carolina Chickadees took over to the nest boxes. I’m so excited to see the sweet little birds raise their families later this spring!
We then picked up some pavers from Lowes and started lining the sunflower bed. As of the time I’m writing this post, we still have plans to line all the flower beds with these beautiful pavers which look like natural stone. Hopefully we’ll get that done within a couple of weeks!
One of my favorite elements of the new garden area are these cool looking solar lights. They are pretty bright for a solar set up and really set off the design of the garden at night! We’re thinking of adding some additional lighting on the back fence line to give the space more depth but still need to decide what kind of lights would look best. I’ll keep ya updated 🙂
Lastly… the pond. Errr what will be a pond lol! I’ve got an idea to build up some dirt at the front end of the garden and install a waterfall trickling down into a creek which empties into a small pond at its base. The thought is that it will attract more birds into the yard to drink and have a bath. Plus, I really like the idea of listening to running water while sitting on my porch in the evening. There is an offside chance that I might include some fish in the pond, perhaps catfish or goldfish. We’ve got a number of Great blue Herons in the area so I don’t imagine they would last very long, but it might be worth a try.
So there ya have it. This project took one month exactly to complete (February 28 to March 28th). So far my backyard bird species count is up to 62 species and I can’t wait to see what new birds show up later this year.
Bird seed and suet was purchased at Tractor Supply Co. in Fuquay Varina, NC. It’s my go-to place to feed all my feathered friends! So far the favorite blend with my backyard birds is the fruit and nut blend and the warblers really love the berry flavored suet. Order some for your flock at the product links below!
I’ve had backyard gardens in the past, but nothing like this. I’m still blown away by the transformation in the yard and could not be more grateful for Michael’s help. It’s been hard work getting all this together in such a short time, but absolutely worth it!
Check out Best Life Birding’s hand selected bird seed, suet and feeding stations below. From mealworms to sunflower seeds, fruit, nuts and peanut butter suet, here is how to attract the widest variety of birds to your backyard bird oasis in North Carolina and beyond.
All products are sold and shipped right to your door via my partners at Tractor Supply and PETCO.
I’ve been on countless feeder stakeouts over the years. Generally I’m not a fan of doing this because I have trouble sitting still for very long. Plus I don’t like the odds of staying put and taking a chance that singular bird will show up at any given time. Not to mention the boredom, hunger and the “oh I have to pee but don’t want to leave and risk missing the bird” scenario factor too lol! Still, every time a Rare Bird Alert goes out reported by a homeowner seeing something cool at their feeder, I’ll still give it a try. This time, things were different.
This Oriole showed up at my boyfriend’s house in Lillington NC a couple days ago so when the bird arrived to the feeders this morning, we watched it out the window while sipping coffee on the couch. Once the sun rose a bit higher, the lighting got a bit harsh when viewing the bird from inside so we sat out front of the house and took photos from there. My friends Corie & Karen stopped by and Michael even made us some breakfast while we waited on the Oriole to return. Definitely the best feeder stakeout I’ve ever done lol!
The Baltimore Oriole is a year round resident of North Carolina but in different regions at different times of the year. During the spring and summer months, they breed in the western part of the state, but spend the winter in the central and coastal areas. Despite the fact that their range extends across the entire state, they are considered somewhat rare at most times throughout the year. These guys are notoriously difficult to photograph too as they tend to hang out in the upper canopies of trees where they’ll be found hunting for insects and snacking on fruit. This means that your best chance to get a good close up look at one is likely in a scenario like this, in a random suburban neighborhood eating jelly at a feeder on a cold winter day.
