A steady hand helps

Everyone knows that it's not too hard to get chickadees and titmice to feed from the hand. But downy woodpeckers? That's an uncommon achievement. By dint of incredible patience and perseverence birdwatcher Rebekah Creshkoff has managed to tame a pair of North Woods downies who regularly come for their [pun alert] hand-outs. Note in photo #1 Mrs. Downy waiting her turn as a chickadee feeds. A titmouse and another titmouse conclude the sequence. You can see it in live action on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygqhEnJwn14

photos by Leonard J. Friedland