Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (YBS) is rather inconspicuous as woodpeckers go. Their call is a rather soft mewing sound which is very close to the same sound a squirrel can make and not unlike a cat. The best evidence of their presence may not be an actual sighting of one, but the rows of holes they leave in the trunks of trees. They tap holes through the bark of trees, then come back later after the holes have accumulated sap to drink the sap and eat any bugs that have been attracted to the sweet liquid. I saw one tap holes in a poison ivy vine one time (the vines can become almost as big around as your wrist) and sip sap! They must not have the problems humans do with this plant.

Here you can see the holes in this trunk. They return year after year to the same trees and you can tell this year's holes by the fresh lighter brown around the edges. After years of tapping a tree, it can look like Swiss cheese.

This is a female YBS. You can see the white chin in the first photo which is red in the male. The red crown bordered by a black band and the large white patch on the wings are other identifiers. Sorry for the quality of the pictures. These were taken when I was still using my junk telephoto and they are not real sharp.

About the only time I have seen them around our house is in the winter.  Their summer and winter ranges meet in this area and they are more migratory than most woodpeckers. These photos, taken in early spring, are about the latest I have seen one in the area.

You would think drilling so many holes in a tree would invite disease and weaken the tree, but I have never read of any instance where this was true. I don't know whether they have preferences in regard to what species they tap. This tree is a sweetgum (hardwood), but I have a big pine (softwood) at the top of the drive that has been heavily tapped also.