See Many Additional
Woodpecker Photos in the
Gallery
April
29, 2009 - We heard a woodpecker happily drumming on a
metal sign across the road from our home. Since they
like to hammer on the loudest thing in the neighborhood
to announce their territory, we took the camera to see
which woodpecker was trying to make a point. An
answering pounding came from right above us on our
electrical pole in the front yard. It was like no other woodpecker
we had ever seen. Many pictures and a brief search
showed us this was a yellow bellied sapsucker. He
may be quite common in this area, but we have never
heard him drumming before or noticed his distinctive pattern of even
horizontal holes which he drills in a
live tree. He laps the sap and eats the insects
that the sap attracts.
An old friend of mine many decades ago in South Jersey belonged to a
touch football team that called themselves "Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers".
Back in the 70's that seemed pretty funny. I don't think I thought of
that until I paged through my first bird book. I never really believed I
would get to see one this closely.
It's really fun to see new birds in our backyard. It expands our area
of interest, and the grandkids get excited to see and learn all about
the new birds. The girls look at the bird books and our photos and have
a great time drawing and coloring their versions. My grandson enjoys
studying bird information and asking questions about what the Food Folks
are up to now.
|
Size:
|
Length: 8-9 in Weight:
1.8-2 oz
Wingspan: 16-18 in
|
|
ID:
|
Male: Forehead, crown and chin and
throat red; red throat bordered in black stripe to form bib;
unbroken, next to that is bold white stripe from bill,
following black border to breast; rest of head bold black and
white stripes; white coverts; messy black and white barring on
back; lower breast and belly pale yellow to tan; black bill long
and pointed; light gray feet zygodactylous (feet with two toes
forward and two facing back)
Female: Similar to male except chin is
white
Juvenile: Similar to female but dull brown and
no red markings; does have same white wing patch as adults
|
|
Habitat:
|
Deciduous and mixed forests and orchards
|
|
Diet:
|
Drills even horizontal rows of small, shallow holes (sap
wells) in the bark of small to medium sized trees; as sap
flows it attracts insects; sapsuckers lap the insects and sap
with their tongues; can also catch insects on the fly or on the
ground; eats fruit, berries and tree buds; will come to suet
feeders; drinks sugar water from hummingbird feeders.
|
|
Family Behavior:
|
Mating Habits: Monogamous and small,
loosely formed colonies; 1
brood per year
Local Breeding Period: Late April to May
Nests: Located in tree cavity (prefers
live tree); built by both sexes in 7-10 days; made of
bark chips
Eggs: 5-6 plain white; female incubates
during day and male at night for
12-13 days
Nestlings: Born altricial (helpless, naked,
eyes closed) and stay in nest 25-29 days; fed by both parents;
sapsucking taught by parents
|
|
Social Activities:
|
Quiet and sluggish woodpecker; solitary or in pairs; only
woodpecker with an irregular drumming pattern
|
|
Range:
|
Summers in most of Canada and northeastern US
Winters in southeastern and mid-western US and as far south
as Panama
|
|
Vocalization:
|
Catlike nasal mewing song; call is tweeeep; also communicates
by irregular drumming on trees, posts and metal signs (occurred
across our country road)
|
|
Lifespan: |
Up to 7 years |
