This is a persistent woodpecker who has been working the trees arrayed around the back deck. It may be the sapsucker, or a compatriot, we have already spotted. It may be a downy [hairy] woodpecker – it has a large beak which would distinguish it from the hairy [downy] woodpecker which looks very similar. [edited 5/17/15]


Later in the afternoon, a squadron of these small birds flit around, sometimes noisily, and do whatever they do. They are not woodpeckers and do not appear to be eating. We have no birdfeeders on the property (for fear of luring birds into the clutches of our four cats), so they must be seeking natural seeds or other organic material for food.