HI ALL:
As reported to this group, Nigel Ball found what he thought was a 95%
Red-naped Sapsucker at Fort Ward Park here on Bainbridge Island. Brad
Waggoner refound the bird yesterday (29 Dec. 2011) in a maple tree with
sapsucker holes in it. He determined the bird is a Red-breasted x
Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid. The tree is about 100 yards north of the old
Caretakers House off of the lower paved walkway at the park. Brad marked
the spot with a dirt arrow in the grass on the east side of the path. I
was down there around 3:45 pm today and after calling Brad to get the
directions to the tree, I refound the bird. At first glance the bird
looks more like a red-naped than red-breasted. I could see its back pretty
well and it had much more red on it that a pure red-naped would have.
Brad said that the black breast mark had red below the bottom of this
mark, indicating a hybrid. To me the bird resembled the first photo in the
article here:

http://www.paradisebirding.com/picidae/HybridSapsuckers.pdf

A second sapsucker flew in and the two birds chased each other around.
The second bird looked like a red-breasted to me. ON other bird news, Brad
told me about a Short-tailed Shearwater reported off of Fort Flager State
Park.

sincerely
--

Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here:
http://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/