I have often seen a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drill holes in a tree to release sap, or at least heard one doing it. They tend to be methodical, going round and round a tree limb. This was the first time I had watched one revisiting his drilled holes to feast on the flowing sap. A small joy of being in winter with no leaves on the trees to block such a view.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
December 12, 2024
This Yellow-bellied Sapsucker surprised me as I was walking along under some Live Oak trees.
There he was with a sun beam right on him, not the usual bird tucked behind a dark branch.
Then he was gone.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
November 5, 2023
The Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are industrious and fun to watch when feeding in plain view.
This one was in the drinking phase of his routine, from holes previously made in the bark.
Holding still on a short break I got a nice profile view showing off that sturdy beak and beautiful color pattern.
They tend to circle the tree, moving up and down, enough to make the photographer dizzy guessing where they will reappear.
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.
Spotting wildlife is often about subtle contrasts and shapes. The subject’s movement sometimes helps. This Sapsucker flew onto the tree then froze in place.
Looking for the unexpected can help.
Some creatures hardly move, like the Tree Frog, and others, like this warbler, are in perpetual motion so it’s helpful to anticipate their next direction.
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.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers visually blend into the surface of the rough-barked trees. These two images were taken in different places over a month apart.
I heard the tat-tat-tat of pecking at the bark first, then watched for the flash of red to help me spot them. Sapsuckers tend to spiral around the tree looking for food, sometimes at a pretty fast pace leaving the photographer to guess where they will pop back around.
