Sam and Serena, the serendipitous sapuckers that we were seeing
regularly at their sap wells on a birch tree in the back yard all of
a sudden stopped coming a week ago, or at least reduced their visits
tremendously, so I went several days without seeing one. But I
assumed they were still around, as we got a glimpse of one on one day
in the middle of that period. They also have made a few holes in two
other birches that we can't see from inside the house, but those
don't seem to be the important trees.

But today all of a sudden there's a sapsucker surge, a bird out there
almost any time I look out. It took me a few hours to realize that
visits had all of a sudden become frequent but quite short, and it
dawned on me that they must be feeding young now. Finally this
afternoon I saw two birds exchange positions at the tree, the first
time I have seen two together. This presumably means that both birds
are now away from the nest, which means the eggs have hatched. I have
learned so much more about sapsucker sap wells and their use just
because this pair was nesting nearby. We are really hoping they will
bring their young to the tree (also hoping the tree will survive its
holiness).

Altough the Birds of North America account states that the young are
fed insects, and mentions nothing about sap, the adults are visiting
the sap wells so frequently, then flying back toward the nest,
wherever it is, that it's hard not to conclude that they are also
feeding them sap. I can't believe that there are that many insects
right at the sap wells. But I don't have any idea what percent of the
insects they eat are taken from around the sap wells. Having these
birds in the yard has greatly increased my interest in finding our
everything about their natural history, and a closer look is always
repaid. However, I am frustrated that the Red-breasted was the only
sapsucker to evolve sexual monomorphism, as I would have liked to
know more about the habits of both sexes.

While I'm online, I'll recommend a book I'm reading, The Well-Dressed
Ape, by Hannah Holmes. Birds are mentioned in it. This is a book that
I think everyone should read and understand. I don't know if Oprah or
Ian have listed it.
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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