Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers Collecting Berries
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The palm tree berries in Everglades City are ready for the picking, and the male Red-bellied Woodpeckers are collecting them as fast as they can, then stashing them in tree trunk crevices and holes for later consumption for him, the Mrs, and soon to be babies.
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) collecting berries
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) collecting berries
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Red-bellied Woodpecker on a palm tree trunk peppered with
holes they create to suck out tree sap and also use for food storage
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) delivering a berry to the nest
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“A Brief Break”
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
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These are taken along “The Broadway” where there are lots of Red-bellies and lots of berries. Needless to say, this is pretty awesome entertainment to watch and have fun trying to photograph! 😃
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Photos by Donna 
Lovely birds, do they get drunk on the berries when they ferment, or is that something that happens in the north when the berries freeze?
Thank you, Jane. Good question, and I’m not sure the answer after searching the internet. But it makes sense. I’ve heard Cedar Waxwings and Robins eating too many overripened berries and getting drunk!
Great shots, Donna! Only in recent years have we seen RBWs here… they’ve become one of my favorites. They sound like they are calling, “Dirt, dirt, dirt!” 🙂
Thank you, Eliza! So nice to hear you’re seeing them in your area. I know that call so well now! 😊
These birds are a becoming a staple of West Florida beaches, they love to nest in palm trees.
You got fantastic shots and the sunlight made even better. 🙂
Thank you, HJ! I visit them in the morning when they are most active. By my bird mobile, of course! 😉
Nature is amazing, isn’t it? How cool! And those are very beautiful photos!
Thank you, Lisa! Nature surely is good for our heart and soul!
I love their zig-zag feather patterns.
Makes a cool contrast!
How neatly they drill those holes – in a line! Amazing. Great shots Donna.
I’ve thought about those straight lines, I guess the woodpecker just reaches and shifts side to side when it’s tasting good! Thanks Mike!
Wow, your photos just get better and better. I love the colours of the berries with the bird, and those lovely holes in the tree!
Thank you, Sel! There are so many birds here in Florida, I’m trying to share the ‘best of the best’. 😁 😉
Wonderful and informative post. By the way, I like his nice tree refrigerator!
Thank you, Hien!
Thank you Donna for your amazing photos.
They deliver plenty of curiosity and intrigue.
These woodpeckers know where to go to find food.
Don’t they? Have a peaceful weekend
Thank you, Eddie! Isn’t it amazing how smart birds are?!!! Have a peaceful, lovely weekend too.
Grand entertainment, Donna! You got some wonderful captures of the action.
Thank you, Ellen! What I forgot to mention and should have, the males were chattering away as they collected, so that’s fun to hear their excitement too. 🙂
Fun, and nice to have those auditory hints to where they are!
👍 😁
What a wonderful series of this woodpecker hard at work! A great delivery service too 😊.
Thank you, Belinda! They really are entertaining, I’ve enjoyed watching them with their excitement. 😊
Awesome photos! Reminds me of chickadees. They also hide their food in trees.
Thank you! I didn’t know that, cool!
That’s quite a pantry the woodpecker has made for himself in the palm tree! I love the first picture — the lines of his body and beak follow the lines of the twigs. Very nice!
Thank you, Barbara! Many of the palm trees look like that one, peppered with holes. Then there’s the big holes where they have drilled out for a nest high above in the same trees. There are dozens of RBWoodpeckers in that one area, vying for those luscious berries to store for later!
Gorgeous bird, and beautiful images of it! How fun and exciting to see activity and bird.
Thanks much, Deborah! They are so busy, they don’t even care that I’m sitting there in my bird mobile. 🙂