Recently the weather around here has been chilly for us, especially in December. No where near as cold as some areas in the northern part of the country, but still cool enough to have the birds plenty hungry. There are several red bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) that live in the woods around here and it’s rare for me to go outside without at least hearing one. Backing up on Gothe State Forest, we have plenty of oak and pine trees that provide great feeding areas and good nesting holes, so it’s not surprising that they like it here. The woodpeckers are pretty fond of the meal worms and the suet that I put out, too. They especially like the suet when it’s cool like it has been lately. This female is one of my regulars, and she almost always flies in and lands on one of the porch posts. That gives her a good view to make sure everything looks safe. She frequently exaggerates her head movements and she makes noise the whole time she’s around. She has no fear of me as long as I stay seated, so I frequently get a closeup view of her entertaining antics.