A bird showed up at the Bark Butter branch the other day and I must confess I did a bit of a double-take.
I was pretty sure it was a Hairy Woodpecker…but they have pure white bellies, and this one clearly did not.
I mean, really, doesn’t this fella look like he should be called a Rusty-chested Hairy Woodpecker, or a Hairy-chested Rusty Woodpecker? Or perhaps he should be dubbed “Dirty Hairy”, or if we wanted to be extra clever, we could just call him Clint, after the actor from the aforementioned film!
In reality, this Hairy Woodpecker is simply bearing the stain of his nesting material or of some tree bark that he has rubbed against. He’ll get his white belly feathers back when he molts.
Anyway, despite his less than pristine appearance, he’s still a good looking guy!
Backyard Bird Nerd 
The Bark Butter branch draws all kinds of interesting visitors!
It does!
Whatever you call this woodpecker these are wonderful captures. I have had a bird feeder in my yard for years but I had never heard of bark butter before I started following your blog. My husband put up a bluebird house for me and you have inspired me to try some bark butter for them.
I mix in a little hot sauce to deter the squirrels.
Let me know how your birds like it!
Kathy, thanks for the tip!
Clever! I see how you came up with Dirty Hairy. Clint forgot to wear his bib. Giggle 🤭
He did indeed!
😍😍😍
Great narrative and fantastic photos as always. I l always chuckle at your humor.☺️. This is such cool information… We see Hairy woodpeckers here, but I never had any idea that the shavings they create from their “woodwork” actually stains their breast feathers! Fascinating!