Here is the location of the Red-naped Sapsucker at Discovery Park when
I last saw it (last Sunday afternoon). Probably the easiest way to
find the tree is to park in the South Parking lot and then face north
(towards the far end of the parking lot. If you start walking north
you will soon leave the paved parking lot and find yourself on a wide
trail. Follow that trail for several hundred feet until you come to a
chain link fence running parallel to the trail on the left. About 3/4
down the length of the fence there is a conifer on the right about 15
feet off the trail that is very gnarly and splits into about 4 or 5
large limbs at the top (it is only about 30 feet high). There is
evidence of old sapsucker ladders lower on the tree, and if you stand
directly under the tree and look towards the top there is clearly a
fresh ladder about 1.5 feet long and the sapsucker was perched at the
top filling out the top row when I saw it.

If you do find the right tree and locate the bird, I would just ask
that people try not to agitate the bird as much as possible,
particularly because it is not very high off the ground. I would
recommend moving slowly and quietly as you approach the tree, taking
your look without any particularly fast movements, and then stepping
back onto the trail to talk it over with friends and such. The bird
clearly became agitated when I was moving around trying to find a
better angle, began flitting around the trunk, and then flew to
another tree far away. It would be nice for everyone who wants to see
the bird to be able to so easily, so please let's try not to disturb
it too much with our observations.

-Nathaniel Peters
Seattle, WA











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