Patti and Tom,
Hummingbirds have long been known to feed on both the sap and insects attracted to it at sapsucker wells, and this is well known for both Anna's and Rufous, which even follow Red-breasted Sapsuckers around, presumably to find fresh wells. I've seen it in my own yard with Anna's, and warblers and kinglets and gray squirrels also feed at these wells.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
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On Oct 22, 2020, at 5:43 PM, Tom Benedict <benedict.t at comcast.net> wrote:
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While I was watching a sapsucker working a cedar in our yard a couple of days ago one of our resident Anna's came by and hovered very close to the sapsucker for about 10 seconds. This is the first time I've seen these species associate. I haven't seen the Anna's actually feed from a sapsucker hole, though, but that's a reasonable thing to do. I would guess it would need to be relatively fresh sap. Before you mentioned this I was thinking that the hummingbird was hoping to grab some small insects stirred up by the woodpecker. It will be interesting to hear from some experts.
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Tom Benedict
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Seahurst
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Burien, WA
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On Oct 22, 2020, at 17:27, Patricia Brent <pdbrent at gmail.com <mailto:pdbrent at gmail.com>> wrote:
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In multiple occasions today I witnessed Anna's Hummingbirds feeding from sapsucker holes in a nearby cedar tree. Is there evidence that this is a typical behavior? In 26 years of birding, I have never seen this.
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Patti Brent
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Salmon Creek
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Vancouver, WA
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