Just A Little Nip

  It is hard to think of woodpeckers and hummingbirds being similar.  Without even looking at the obvious difference in size, the birds seem to be total opposites.  The hummer is tiny, delicate and graceful as it flits from flower to flower.  But when thinking of a woody, the traits of a large, sturdy bird that has to be rough and tough to pound its head against pine trees come to mind.  These two birds cannot share a common thread...or can they?

  Out back, a red trumpet vine has about taken over the blackberry fence.  It has gone so far as to travel across the plum trees and up an oak.  Tomorrow, the thing will meet its demise as it is irritating me even though it is covered with its trademark red, funnel-shaped blooms.  Those blooms have attracted honeybees and hummingbirds in droves and this is where that similarity between the hummingbirds and woodpeckers was first noticed.  

  The hummingbirds use their long beaks and tongues to sip the nectar from the bright red blossoms.  Woodpeckers seem to crave that sweetness as well.  They peck a small hole in the base of flower and then lap up the nectar.  So...nectar is not just for hummers and bees!

  This afternoon as I was on a lubber grasshopper hunt, a red-bellied woodpecker caught my eye.  It was going from flower to flower on the trumpet vine.  I pondered at first if the bird was feasting upon insects that had crawled into the flowers but closer inspection revealed that the bird was indeed drinking the nectar.  It was fascinating to see something new...at least, new to me.  Nature is amazing.