Sapsuckered

I’ll be the first to admit that my apple tree has seen better days, but it’s the only tree I can hang feeders from. And it provides me with an up-close view of the warblers each spring when they pursue the insects that buzz around the apple blossoms. I’m not ready to let go yet.

I was not exactly ecstatic to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pecking away at the trunk of the tree for hours the other day. Sapsuckers usually target trees that are weak or damaged. They drill a set of holes into the bark and then lick the sap that oozes out. Nuthatches, warblers, hummingbirds and squirrels also feed on the sap. In fact, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds survive in far northern climates thanks in part to sapsuckers. The sap wells provide much-needed nutrition in the spring when hummingbird nectar sources are scarce.

My little friend carved 50 or more holes into my apple tree. Some of them were still oozing the next morning. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are the only woodpeckers that reliably migrate each year. Thankfully he’ll soon be on his way south, drilling into someone else’s trees.