Suet

These Mohawk wearing, noisy punks are frequent visitors to the backyard feeders. Usually showing up in groups of 4 or more at a time. Their distinctive calls alert me to their presence in and around the yard, even through the closed windows. The seemingly are indiscriminate about the food of choice and will visit all seed and suet types I have out. It's not all bad however, they are beautiful brightly colored birds and their warning cries alert all the other birds about predators in the area (most recently a red shouldered hawk that visited).

I've struggled for years to be able to tell the difference between the Hairy and Downy woodpeckers that are both prevelant in the forests and yards of the North East US. Coloring on the males and females tend to be quite similar, with the primary difference being their size (the Hairy being a few inches taller). I've observed both the male and female perched near each other in the large pines in my yard, though they seem to visit the feeders (primarily the suet) separately. I found this link helpful when trying to distinguish between the Hairy and Downy woodpeckers that visit my yard.