Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers feed at sapwells, shallow holes they have drilled in tree’s bark.
Like other woodpeckers, Sapsuckers are industrious, and usually their work is in tidy rows.
Check out his sharp beak and the spread of his foot!
As the sapsucker worked around the tree additional sapwells came into view.
Click on any photo for a larger view.
A very entertaining group including American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, a Great Egret and an Anhinga.
And an Alligator.
Tormentor of this photographer, that is. I often see them at my favorite wildlife management area, but somehow they are always a few wing beats ahead.
I get closer, and just as the the camera is halfway up, zoom…
And sometimes they aren’t Kingfishers at all.
We feed the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in our back yard and I’ve tried off and on this summer with limited success to capture good images. Hurricane Dorian stripped a lot of leaves from the Crepe Myrtle trees which gave me a new opportunity.
At the feeder the light was just right to see what I think is the start of the ruby-throat on a juvenile.
This may be the same bird; he was at a different angle so the throat iridescence didn’t show. They fly so fast and three or four were chasing each other making it impossible to keep track.
This is the first Belted Kingfisher I have seen since last fall and he gave me an amazing, if brief, aerial show.
When I first spotted him he was hovering over a small pond. Before I could lift my camera he was gone.
He came back a couple minutes later and I got a second opportunity.
He hovered for several seconds.
Assumed the dive position
And dove. I never saw him hit the water, actually never saw him again, despite waiting another 15 minutes.
This is a long named bird and long named plant! The Powdery Alligator-flag doesn’t look like it would have much to feed a Hummingbird but this one spent several minutes investigating this single stalk.
After circling a few times she perched for a short rest.
I was able to move to a slightly closer spot, then a cloud covered the sun. And as is the way with Hummingbirds, zip and she was gone.
I first noticed this Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird when she flew through my shot of these ornamental sunflowers. I was surprised that there was nectar in a flower head like this to attract a hummingbird.
This is a view of the back side of a nearby sunflower in the same garden. This variety has multiple seed heads on the same stem.
I spotted a Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird taking a break after feeding in a small flower garden.
After a bit she gave a good shake…
then settled in for a few minutes.
Click on any image for a larger view. Her beak is dusted with pollen.
I was startled when this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flew over my shoulder so close I could have touched him.
He perched on a limb overhanging the trail just ahead of me and had a look around. Whatever he was looking for wasn’t in the immediate vicinity and shortly he continued on his way.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are named for their behavior of drilling small holes in trees then drinking the sap that runs into the wells. They get most of their food that way but also feed on insects they find under tree bark.
I’ve seen them peck at bark, mostly on the rough-barked trees and was surprised to see this one bobbing into a tree cavity. He was just about disappearing from my view as he reached in.
I didn’t see what, if anything, the Sapsucker was finding, but he kept at it for longer than I watched.
