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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 10, 2005 - Seeking out the sapsuckerThe Suffolk Times I Seeking out the sapsucker Page 2 of 3 chickadees and tufted titmice all drink at the sapsucker wells. The sapsucker is just like you and me in the sense that it prefers the sap of certain trees. We prefer certain foods and shun others. It prefers birches, sugar maples and Scotch pines. These drillers of holes often select a tree that's wounded or weak from disease or has been hit by lightning, etc. These trees try to repair the damage and so put forth a higher level of protein and amino acids in their sap. The woodpecker takes advantage of this super sap, for it helps in its never-ending game of survival. When nectar from flowers becomes scarce due to a cold spring or heavy rains or some other disaster, the sap from the sapsuckers' holes is a true life- saver. Both our ruby- throated hummingbird and, sometimes, the rufous hummingbird, take advantage of the wells of sap. Could it be that sap from the sapsuckers' wells might have helped the rufous hummingbird that came to Ruth Oliva's feeder in Orient last December? Unlike the majority of male birds, when it comes to raising a family, the sapsucker does more than his share. Not only does he find and defend the nest area, but he does most of the work when it comes to digging out a cavity in a tree for the nest. After the eggs are laid and incubation is started, he'll take over part of this task. Once the young are hatched, he does most of the insect collecting, sap collecting, and taking care of the welfare of the nest, like cleaning and other jobs that are usually shunned by most males, who just sit around and do little to help in rearing the young. Look for this interesting bird when you're out on a walk - Look for rows of holes in the bark of trees, meaning this sapsucker has been there. The yellow - bellied sapsucker is an international traveler. In migration the females go as far south as the Caribbean, while the males stay more to the north, in around Georgia and Florida. The sapsucker lives a varied and interesting life. It's a bird we should all get to know better. A few days have passed since 1 wrote about the yellow - bellied sapsucker. During that time, Barbara and I made a quick trip to Dune Road in Westhampton to see if we could find any interesting birds. There were flooded roads with potholes everywhere. We didn't see anything as we headed eastward except for a great blue heron that looked pretty sad, as there was little open water it could feed in. Our destination was the inlet, which seems to draw birds with its rushing tidal waters. Recently it was reported that there were some sea ducks from the north that we hoped to see. When we got there, we scanned the area with our binoculars. There were the usual gulls, always on patrol looking for a morsel here and a scrap there. There were the little white Bonaparte gulls, about the size of a tem. They were dancing and dipping into the eddies on the west side of the inlet. Then someone pulled up in a car, got out and set up a magnificent spotting scope. It looked like it had just come out of the box. He scanned around and around, up and down. I got out of my car and asked him, "Have you seen anything ?" There's something out there that looks like a dovekie or a heavy- billed murre," he said. Barbara and I remember seeing these handsome black- and -white divers on several occasions. Once I saw them nesting on the shore cliffs of Nova Scotia. These birds are quite common all along the Maritime Provinces and south into Maine. It's a rare sight to see them here. He asked if I would like to take a look- Sure enough, there was a thick - billed murrel I couldn't believe the clarity of the scope we were looking through. How dear it was, and how close it brought the subjects! My binoculars could just about reveal the bird across the inlet. It took the spotting scope to show just what it was. Then, believe it or not, eight brant flew in. This is a small goose, one that lives on vegetation only. They immediately swam over to the seaweed - covered jetty and started their afternoon picking. After looking around for some time, we decided it was getting late, and so we headed back. On the way we stopped alongside Ponquogue Bridge, where we always check hq: / /www2.timcsreview.com/ST /community /317160240247807.php 2/11/2005 The Suffolk Times I Seeking out the sapsucker to see what's there. Diving around the pilings was another one of the thick - billed murres. It was so close that I had no trouble seeing this winter visitor through my binoculars. Our day couldn't have ended any better. 2005 Times- Review Newspapers Page 3 of 3 http: / /www2.timesreview.com/ST /community /317160240247807.php 2/11/2005 The Suffolk Times • February 10, 2005 Seeking out the sapsucker We were visited during the bliz- zard by a yellow - bellied sapsucker. How would you like to have a name like that? It doesn't sound very nice . yet it describes this bird perfectly. It's one of our many woodpeckers characterized by black- and -white body colors. However, this one stands out, because it's cross - barred on its back and has a light yel- low belly. Its main distin- guishing feature is its ability to drill holes in trees and ex- tract We're told the sapsucker is a rare winter visitor, so you can see why we were pleased to have one come to our suet feeder. Usu- ally we see the sapsuckers on their spring and fall migrations, but here we were in the middle of winter, with snow on the ground and frigid temperatures. This unusual visitor showed up at our suet feeder along with the downy and hairy wood- peckers and the big red - bellied woodpeckers who constantly use the suet through the winter. We' ve even seen a flicker taking advantage of our suet now and then. As I said, we usually only see this driller of holes passing through on migration. It nests in Canada and the upper New York State area. It' s nev- er been recorded nesting down here. Have you ever seen holes girdling Times /Review photo by Paul Stoutenburgh the bark of a tree? They're made by Not only does the sapsucker enjoy the sap from the holes it drills into the this woodpecker. Some trees are just bark of trees, but others seek out the sapsucker's handiwork to enjoy the riddled with them. Even though the nutritious liquid as well. Here you can see the sapsucker on the left and a bird drills many holes, it doesn' t seem chickadee on the right helping himself to some of the sap. to harm The sap is most important as it makes up a large part of the sapsuck- er's diet. The sapsucker also extracts insects and grubs from trees, just like any other woodpecker. As a matter of fact, insects of all kinds collect at the holes or wells of.the sap and give the woodpecker easy picking. So you see, the sapsucker has a wide variety of food to choose from. It's a difficult task to keep the sap flowing. When a tree has a hole drilled into it by the sapsucker, the tree tries to heal itself just like we would when we get a cut and our body heals it over, forming a scab. The tree tries to heal itself too, and eventually may close up the drilled hole. The sapsucker must reopen the holes to get at the sap. Scientists have not been able to figure out how the sapsuckers overcome the tree's healing process so that the sap can run again. Their latest theory is that the sapsucker must have something n its saliva like an anticoagulant hat allows it to reopen the scar, let- ting the sap flow again. The sapsucker has evolved a special tongue with a brush -like ap- pendage on the end that helps lap up the sap. Other animals enjoy the sapsucker's being around, for they, too, visit the drilled holes for the sap. Bats, squirrels, mice and even such birds as chickadees and tufted titmice all drink at the sapsucker wells. The sapsucker is just like you and me in the sense that it prefers the sap of certain trees. We prefer certain foods and shun others. It prefers birches, sugar maples and Scotch pines. These drillers of holes often select a tree that's wounded or weak from disease or has been hit by light- ning, etc. These trees try to repair the damage and so put forth a higher level of protein and amino acids in their sap. The woodpecker takes ad- vantage of this super sap, for it helps in its never- ending game of survival. be- comes scarce due to a cold spring or heavy rains or some other disaster, the sap from the sapsuckers' holes is a true life- saver. Both our ruby - throated hummingbird and, some- times, the rufous hummingbird, take advantage of the wells of sap. Could it be that sap from the sapsuckers' wells might have helped the rufous hummingbird that came to Ruth Oliva's feeder in Orient last Decem- ber? Unlike the majority of male birds, when it comes to raising a family, the sapsucker does more than his share. Not only does he find and defend the nest area, but he does most of the work when it comes to digging out a cavity in a tree for the nest. After the eggs are laid and incubation is started, he'll take over part of this task. Once the young are hatched, he does most of the insect collecting, sap collecting, and tak- ing care of the welfare of the nest, like cleaning and other jobs that are usually shunned by most males, who just sit around and do little to help in rearing the young. Look for this interesting bird when you're out on a walk. Look for rows of holes in the bark of trees, meaning this sapsuck- r has been there. The yellow - bellied sapsucker is an international traveler. In migration the females go as far south as the Caribbean, while the males stay mot to the north, in around Georgia and Florida. The sapsucker lives a varied and interesting life. It's a bird we . should all get to know better. A few days have passed since I wrote about the yellow - bellied sap- sucker. During that time, Barbara and I made a quick trip to Dune Road in Westhampton to see if we could find any interesting birds. There were flooded roads with pot- holes everywhere. We didn't see any thing as we headed eastward except for a great blue heron that looked pretty sad, as there was little open water it could feed in. Our destination was the inlet, which seems to draw birds with its rushing tidal waters. Recently it was reported that there were some sea ducks from the north that we hoped to see. When we got there, we scanned the area with our binocu- lars. There were the usual gulls, al- ways on patrol looking for a morsel here and a scrap there. There were the little white Bonaparte gulls, about the size of a tern. They were dancing and dipping into the eddies on the west side of the inlet. Then someone pulled up in a car, got out and set up a magnificent spot- ting scope. It looked like it had just come out of the box. He scanned around and around, up and down. I got out of my car and asked him, "Have Rows of holes you seen any- in the bark of thing ?" There's trees means a something sapsucker has out there that been there. looks like a dovekie or a heavy- billed murre," he said. Bar - bara and I remember seeing these handsome black- and -white divers on several occasions. Once I saw them nesting on the shore cliffs of Nova Scotia. These birds are quite common all along the Maritime Provinces and south into Maine. It's a rare sight to see them here. He asked if I would like to take a look. Sure enough, there was a thick - billed murre! I couldn't believe the clarity of the scope we were looking through. How clear it was, and how close it brought the subjects! My binoculars could just about reveal the bird across the inlet. It took the spotting scope to show just what it Then, believe it or not, eight brant flew in. This is a small goose, odl that lives on vegetation only. They- immediately swam over to the sea- weed- covered jetty and started their afternoon picking. After looking around for some time, we decided it was getting late, and so we headed back. On the way we stopped alongside Ponquogue Bridge, where we always check to see what's there. Diving around the pilings was another one of the thick - billed murre`s. It was so close that I had no trouble seeing this winter visitor through my binoculars. Our day couldn't have ended any better.