Tweeters,

Sometimes, you find a bird in a place where you least expect to see it.
Red-breasted Sapsuckers are not a species that one usually thinks of
as an urban bird, although they will occasionally invade urban areas in
winter cold spells. In fact, they are probably commonest as breeding
birds at higher altitudes in the Cascades and Olympics.

I spent most of yesterday birding in Kitsap County, trying to familiarize
myself with an area that I rarely bird (and of course, trying to add a few
species to my county list). One of the birds that had eluded me so far
was the Red-breasted Sapsucker. A couple of weeks ago, I was driving
through Port Gamble and heard woodpecker nestlings calling from a
wooded area. Suspecting a sapsucker nest, I parked the car, found the
nest, and waited for the adults to come. However, nobody showed up
after 20 minutes (as the nestlings continued to call), and I gave up.

Yesterday, as I emerged from dinner in the early evening at Skipper's
in Silverdale, I heard a sapsucker-type call, and saw a sapsucker-sized
bird flying south over a row of maple trees along Silverdale Way,
the main drag of Silverdale. Those of you who know this area will know
that most of it is covered with buildings and asphalt, with only scattered
trees-- not what you'd think of as prime sapsucker habitat.

I didn't see where the bird landed, but it looked like it wasn't going far.
You're not eluding me again, I thought, as I grabbed my binos and jaywalked
across the busy traffic on Silverdale Way. As I got to the south end of the
row of maples, I thought I could hear the bird still calling, above the
noise of the traffic, from a few trees on the far side of Myrhe Road, a
crossroad. I jaywalked again, determined to find the bird. By the time
I crossed Myrhe, the bird had stopped calling. However, among the
few trees was a white birch. Knowing that sapsuckers are particularly
fond of birches, I approached the birch tree, and sure enough, there
were sapsucker holes in the bark. A short search revealed the bird--
an adult-- on the trunk about 20 feet up in the tree, where it stayed for
several minutes.

I found myself next to the local Bank of America, peering up through my
binoculars to try to get a good view of the sapsucker. An ATM customer gave
me a funny look as he walked from and to his car. It's a good thing the
local police didn't come by, I thought, or they would have grilled me for
sure. (Silverdale probably has anti-jaywalking laws, too.)

So birders, always be alert to the possibility of an unusual or interesting
bird, even in the middle of beautiful downtown Silverdale.

One final thought-- does the habitat make this bird a city 'sucker, as
opposed to a city slicker? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)


Good luck and good birding,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net