Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Sapsucker/ World Birds

 Male yellow-bellied sapsucker

This is the time to listen for yellow-bellied sapsuckers. (Yes, they are real birds, not made-up cartoon characters.) Right now they are drumming away, creating holes in trees to gather nutritious sap that also helps them capture insects.

This sapsucker is chiseling several sap wells in this tree and will move on to make more nearby.  He's a good dad and soon will be treating his young to insects dipped in sap.

Yellow belly

Other animals and birds  - such as warblers, hummingbirds, nuthatches, squirrels, bats - benefit from the yellow-bellied sapsucker's hard work as they will also help themselves to the nutritious sap.

I am linking yo World Bird Wednesday.

50 comments:

MadSnapper said...

he does look like a cartoon, and the yellow belly head is so gorgeous.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I never knew they collect sap, thanks for info.

Jill said...

We don't have those here so sure was fun seeing them. Just put my hummer feeder out the other day. Nothing yet...but they will come!

Paul in Powell River said...

We don't get them here - yours are Yellow-Bellied, ours are Red-breasted.

Lois Evensen said...

Yum! They look very happy getting some sweet sap.

Darla said...

What an interesting bird, very colorful.

Darla

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

Are you a bird lover too? These are so detailed.

TexWisGirl said...

great shot! love these birds!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Your pictures are fantastic. The Sapsuckers at my house refused to cooperate with me.

Betty Manousos said...

simply beautiful!
beautiful birds, and shot!

Indrani said...

So well camouflaged!

Unknown said...

Great capture of a difficult subject!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Pat Tillett said...

I've never seen one before! Very pretty! Thanks for the info as well.

RedPat said...

great pics. I haven't seen one in years. We see lots of Downy woodpeckers in our neighbourhood but not these guys.

Linda said...

lovely colours, haven't seen one around here yet

Kerri Farley said...

He's so handsome!!

Karen said...

A fabulous capture EG!!! I see tham around here, but can't get a close up shot.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful bird, but they sure can mess up a good tree with all their holes!

Modesto Viegas said...

Nice bird, great post!!!

Lowell said...

I saw a redheaded woodpecker today on the golf course and it looked a little like this. I don't think we have these down here. Very cool photos!

Fjällripan said...

Great photos of this greatlooking woodpecker!! :)

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful shot of the sapsucker. They are cool birds to see.

Debbie said...

i get lot's of woodpeckers, but not these. they look like they are fun little ones, i love the pretty splashes of red!!

Deb said...

Interesting insight never realised so many others benefited from the sapsucker's hard work. Nice capture.

Janie said...

I've long heard of these birds but I've never seen a photo. Thanks for these and for info on their behavior.

A wondering star said...

Beautiful woodpecker!
Reminds a little bit about our (Dendrocopos major).
Thanks for sharing and good information.

mick said...

Great photos.

NatureFootstep said...

nice pair of sapsuckers. Nice captures. :)

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Great photos!

Giga said...

Ptaki są piękne, kolorowe i mają wspaniałe zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam.
These birds are beautiful, colorful, useful and have great pictures. Yours.

Anonymous said...

What a great shot! These birds look like they're pretty well camouflaged.

Michelle said...

The yellow belly is quite striking!

Larry said...

Awesome shots of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! What a gorgeous woodie he is! Our most common sapsucker in the West is the Red-breasted. Your handsome fellow would be a lifer for me!

Small City Scenes said...

We have lots of different woodpeckers hanging out around here. I don't think we have the yellow-bellied but we do have the red bellied sapsucker. Birds, birds, birds.

Nancy said...

Love him -- I don't believe we have them around here. Darnit.

Stephanie said...

That is a neat looking bird and had no idea that they collect sap.

Shammickite said...

There's nothing as tasty as a freshly caught insect dipped in sap.... at least I would think so if I was a baby yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Stewart M said...

Hi there - we have no woodpeckers of any kind in Australia - so I like to see ones 'on line'.

Great pictures.

Stewart M - Australia

jeanlivingsimple said...

I only see them in winter so it is nice to see where they go to nest.
Great captures!

Vores have said...

Great pictures you show.
Wishing you a good day.
Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk

Nature Rambles said...

This is new to me! If I hadn't read your post I'd have thought it was a woodie. Beautiful bird!

Springman said...

What's in a name? In the case of the YBSS it's a double edged sword I suppose. Sure brings a lot of attention to an otherwise conservative little bird!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful capture

thanks

Linda said...

I am very fond of this bird - used to have them in my pecan tree! And, just saying the name is fun! Great photos!

Arija said...

Amazing how they have adapted to 'tree farming'. A very striking bird.

Craver Vii said...

I'm all for being a good dad. I think I'll serve up some sticky sap-covered insects to my youngens tonight. ;-)

Nice close-up. I loved the cartoon reference.

CameraCruise said...

Beautiful bird and photos!
Don't see them around here.
Thanks for sharing.
Mette

Anonymous said...

never saw one before...thanks for sharing

Susan said...

Wow, he's a pretty bird. I envy you photographers that can catch birds!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

You got some great shots at one of my favorite birds. Are they not just wonderful...I love the way they peck those tiny holes in a neat little line and then visit them daily to sip the sweet sap from the tree...beautiful!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.