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:
he does look like a cartoon, and the yellow belly head is so gorgeous.
I never knew they collect sap, thanks for info.
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!
We don't get them here - yours are Yellow-Bellied, ours are Red-breasted.
Yum! They look very happy getting some sweet sap.
What an interesting bird, very colorful.
Darla
Are you a bird lover too? These are so detailed.
great shot! love these birds!
Your pictures are fantastic. The Sapsuckers at my house refused to cooperate with me.
simply beautiful!
beautiful birds, and shot!
So well camouflaged!
Great capture of a difficult subject!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
I've never seen one before! Very pretty! Thanks for the info as well.
great pics. I haven't seen one in years. We see lots of Downy woodpeckers in our neighbourhood but not these guys.
lovely colours, haven't seen one around here yet
He's so handsome!!
A fabulous capture EG!!! I see tham around here, but can't get a close up shot.
Beautiful bird, but they sure can mess up a good tree with all their holes!
Nice bird, great post!!!
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!
Great photos of this greatlooking woodpecker!! :)
Wonderful shot of the sapsucker. They are cool birds to see.
i get lot's of woodpeckers, but not these. they look like they are fun little ones, i love the pretty splashes of red!!
Interesting insight never realised so many others benefited from the sapsucker's hard work. Nice capture.
I've long heard of these birds but I've never seen a photo. Thanks for these and for info on their behavior.
Beautiful woodpecker!
Reminds a little bit about our (Dendrocopos major).
Thanks for sharing and good information.
Great photos.
nice pair of sapsuckers. Nice captures. :)
Great photos!
Ptaki są piękne, kolorowe i mają wspaniałe zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam.
These birds are beautiful, colorful, useful and have great pictures. Yours.
What a great shot! These birds look like they're pretty well camouflaged.
The yellow belly is quite striking!
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!
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.
Love him -- I don't believe we have them around here. Darnit.
That is a neat looking bird and had no idea that they collect sap.
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.
Hi there - we have no woodpeckers of any kind in Australia - so I like to see ones 'on line'.
Great pictures.
Stewart M - Australia
I only see them in winter so it is nice to see where they go to nest.
Great captures!
Great pictures you show.
Wishing you a good day.
Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk
This is new to me! If I hadn't read your post I'd have thought it was a woodie. Beautiful bird!
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!
Beautiful capture
thanks
I am very fond of this bird - used to have them in my pecan tree! And, just saying the name is fun! Great photos!
Amazing how they have adapted to 'tree farming'. A very striking bird.
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.
Beautiful bird and photos!
Don't see them around here.
Thanks for sharing.
Mette
never saw one before...thanks for sharing
Wow, he's a pretty bird. I envy you photographers that can catch birds!
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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