A woodpecker, exact type to be determined (by me, it already knows what it is), has been making hourly visits to the Bird Webcam today. On each visit, he grabs a seed and flies away, probably to feed a nestling. His regular trips are probably the result of some improbable birdseed economics.
Used to be, I’d fill the feeder every other day or so, sometimes longer, sometimes letting it run out completely for a couple of days. Since the webcam’s been up, I’ve been making a point to make sure it has plenty of seed in it before I go to work. That way I can pull up the video at work and watch the activity I used to miss. Other people come over and watch. Some of them have even started sounding serious about putting feeders in their own backyards or putting up webcams on their dogs or their fish tanks, making me feel like the Johnny Appleseed of webcams. Delightful.
The upshot for the woodpecker is this: He can’t get any food out when the level goes below the top opening, so he stops coming to the feeder. When the feeder is always full, he’ll always be rewarded for each visit. Because I can always watch the feeder now, I always keep it full, so the woodpeckers keep coming back.
Like I said, this guy always gets just a single seed and flies right back to the nest. I wonder if he’s named that baby there after me? Woodpecker Paulie. That would be so cool. More likely, it’s named "D-Link", the people who made the wireless camera.
6:12:41 PM 
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