Last week I shared a story about my discovery of a flying squirrel that had come to visit my feeder. This was the first time I had ever seen a flying squirrel at my house and I am disappointed to report that I have not seen the little bugger again despite regularly looking for it. I can’t possibly provide any reason for this, but I shall continue to turn on the porch light several times per night in the off chance that a return visit is made.
On the positive side of things is the fact that there has been another sighting of a very interesting bird at my feeders. For only the third time in the past 17 years I have seen and photographed a yellow-bellied sapsucker at my peanut feeders, and this time the bird was very young. So, something appears to have changed, though I am again unable to offer up any sort of reason for this.
The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a woodpecker species that is listed as an “uncommon” species in Massachusetts. I should also mention that the species is migratory and it isn’t supposed to be here in the winter at all. Thus, in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Audubon Society considers it to be uncommon at the peak of its abundance, which is during the months of May and June.
In July and August the bird is categorized as “occasional” until there is a brief period of September when it is once again elevated to “uncommon” status. From November to January the species is downgraded to “rare/sporadic/irruptive” and from February to mid April the species is recorded as being completely absent. That final period of absence sheds some light on the behavior of this species and a quick look at a range map tells us a much clearer story.
It turns out that the yellow-bellied sapsucker is a truly migratory species of woodpecker. Unlike the little downy and hairy woodpeckers that remain in out yards as residents throughout the year, the yellow-bellied sapsucker bails out of the northern half of North America during the winter months. This explains its absence during the depths of winter.
A closer look at the birds summer breeding range shows that the species is only present in the western half of Massachusetts, which means that we are on the fringe of its summer range, but we are not on its southern edge by any means. Heading southwest from the Bay State, the summer range appears to follow the Appalachian mountain range all the way down to include most of the state of West Virginia. Then the western edge of the summer range heads back up to the southern border of New York and heads west across to Wisconsin before taking a northwesterly turn to extend all the way out to Alaska.
The reasons for the sapsucker’s migratory ways almost certainly includes the seasonal availability of tree sap. The species has a specialized tongue with a “brush” at the end of it to allow the bird to lap up liquid easily. The species also has a specialized behavior that allows it to harvest tree sap. Small, shallow holes are drilled into trees in order to collect sap. Favorite species of trees include birches and maples. I should note that we humans also like the sap from maple trees, so it isn’t any wonder that a wild animal would also figure out how to harvest a sugary food like that as well.
So now we have a slightly better understanding of where the bird is found, when it is found there and why it is there. What I can’t really explain is why I’m suddenly seeing these birds after going so many years without a single sighting. I might reason that the local sapsuckers only recently discovered my feeders and that they remember to come back and grab some food, but this wouldn’t match my three sightings.
In December 2019 I noticed a bird that I eventually decided was a juvenile female. I didn’t see a sapsucker at all in 2020, but in February of 2021 I noticed a bird that was clearly an adult female. This actually might have been the same bird from 2019, but I have no way to prove it. That bird was present during a time when it should have been completely absent, but apparently she never got the memo.
So if I had seen another adult female this month I would start to think that it might be the same bird, but that is no what happened. This time I saw another juvenile that was clearly born this summer. The coloration of the head feathers lacks the bold black-and-white patterns seen in adults and there is only the slightest hint of the red feathers that will eventually cover the bird’s forehead. Adult males will also have a patch of red feathers on their throats, which this bird has no trace of at all.
So, once again, a young female sapsucker has discovered my feeders and, in true sapsucker form, the bird disappeared as quickly as it appeared. This means that I now have two different animals to look for whenever the opportunity arises: a flying squirrel at night and a yellow-bellied sapsucker during the daytime. If I’m lucky, then I’ll see both of them again. However, I might also notice something else of interest while maintaining my vigil and I’ll be sure to share it with you if I do.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 24 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he currently teaches high school biology and physics. For more in formation visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or head over to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.