Hi Dennis and all

I have seen evidence of breeding Red-breasted Sapsuckers here on Hollywood Hill in Woodinville - elevation about 500-550 feet. Watched a pair go thru courtship and dig a nest hole. Saw food being brought to the hole - and then the intervening foliage screened things off so I couldn't see the hole anymore.

A couple of years ago I had one dig a successful hole in a tree on our property, but there was no evidence of breeding after that. The bird stopped making visits and essentially disappeared.

We certainly have lots of territorial drumming every spring, and for a couple of years had two males contesting the edges of their territories that seemed to run down the road on the east side of our house.

We have seen Red-breasted Sapsuckers that have nested at Marymoor, and could see young birds being fed and successful fledglings.

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
mail to bell asoc at isomedia dot com
----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis Paulson
To: Tweeters
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 3:18 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Sam the sad-sack sapsucker


Just an update on the Red-breasted Sapsucker that I discovered drumming on a utility pole across the street on the morning of May 1. I may not have made it clear in my first post that sapsuckers probably don't breed in Seattle, thus my prediction that it would not acquire a mate if it persisted in hanging around here. It was on the post again on May 2, rat-a-tat-tatting throughout much of the day. At one point a crow landed on top of the post, and the sapsucker flew to a nearby tree, squealing (alarm call?) all the way. On May 3 and 4 there was not a trace of it. Even with its rattled brain, it presumably realized there was no female in earshot, and it moved on. We know this species undergoes altitudinal migration in western Washington, but I know nothing about latitudinal migration. I see one was just seen in Edmonds, and I wonder if anyone knows of any breeding localities in Seattle or surrounding cities. They are common, of course, in the native forest outside the urban area.

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net








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