Red-bellied family

        The woodpeckers can have from one to three broods (babies} a year. The parents takes turns sitting on the eggs (incubating}, until they hatch out, which can take from 12 to 14 days. The young ones will leave the nest anywhere from 22 to 27 days after they hatch. Both parents will feed the young ones. After the babies have left the nest the parents will continue to feed them for 6 week or even longer.
       We have watched the mom or dad at times showing their young ones where to find food. The young ones have followed their parent to our tree that has suet hanging on it. The parent will take bites of the suet and feed it to the young one that is nearby. We have also seen one of the parents bring their young ones to our back deck to where we put out orange half’s for them to eat. The parent will then feed pieces of the orange to the young one. The parents are teaching the young ones where to go to find different types of foods, like insects, nuts, seeds, and fruits.