Sapsucker Banquet

 

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
 on River Birch (Betula nigra).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Sapsuckers are a group of woodpeckers native to North America.  They use their strong, chisel-like beaks to drill rows of holes tree trunks. These holes tap the phloem of the tree that exudes sugary sap.  The tree can repair the damage and each hole yields sap for only a short period of time.  Sapsuckers feed on the sap and the insects that are attracted to it. 

There are four species of Sapsuckers, three are found in western North America and one, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus various), is found in the east.  Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers breed in the forests from Alaska to eastern Canada and in the northeastern United States.  This species of Sapsucker spends the winter in southeastern and southcentral United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. 

 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are medium-sized woodpeckers.  They have a black and white pattern of feathers that is typical of woodpeckers, with a bold white band running down the wing and yellow on the belly.  Both male and female Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have black and white stripes on the face and a red crown. Males also have a red throat.  Immature Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have a more brownish look and the stripes on the head are less distinct. 

 We have many opportunities to watch Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers during their winter residency.  One of the Sapsucker’s favorite trees in our yard is a mature River Birch (Betula nigra).  The upper trunk of this tree is riddled with Sapsucker holes that they visit regularly.  Sapsuckers will also come to the suet feeders in the yard and get a free lunch.  

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker holes in the trunk of a River Birch. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker feeding on suet.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A number of other bird species take advantage of the holes the Sapsuckers make. One day this winter an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was drilling and feeding at the holes.  Other birds were hanging around too.  A large flock of Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) was eating thistle seed from a feeder but some of the Siskins would fly up to the top of the Beech and sip some sap next to the Sapsucker.  

Immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

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Immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
and Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus). 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Pine Siskins feeding at Sapsucker holes.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A female Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) also took advantage of the Sapsucker’s work and fed at the holes.  A Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) was picking insects from the sap and even a Downy Woodpecker (Picoidies pubescens) could not resist the banquet provided by the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.     

Female Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)
feeding at Sapsucker holes.
Rowan County, North Carolina.  

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler at the Sapsucker holes.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A female Downy Woodpecker (Picoidies pubescens).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The holes drilled by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers can damage trees and make them more susceptible to disease.  But Sapsucker holes also set up a whole new set of ecological interactions, between the trees, the insects and the birds.  On balance, I like having Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers spend the winter with us. 

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Rowan County,  North Carolina.