When scanning a cluster of river-side serviceberry bushes through my
binoculars on a recent birding excursion, a light honeycomb-shaped
mosaic caught my eye. After closer inspection (and a hint from ACES' Naturalist Rebecca Weiss) we decided the grid was the result of a
busy red-naped sapsucker. The serviceberry trunks in front of us were home
to multiple generations of sap-wells; some barely visible scars of wells
from seasons past, and others brand-new, still oozing sap and darkening
the bark around them. Rebecca began to explain the fascinating details
about these sap-wells. To begin with, they are feeding hot-spots; not
only for the red-naped sapsucker, but also for an array of other
species that come to rely on the bird's work. There were two kinds of
wells littering the surface of this particular serviceberry stand; some were
the diameter of a quarter and are holes that the sap-sucker must
continually maintain to keep sap flowing. The others holes and bark
scars showed punctures, akin to a Parcheesi board and no wider than
a pen, where the sap suckers uses its bill to probe the tree
looking for sap.
The gallery of holes, regardless of size, were all carved in the soft bark of the tree by a bird no bigger than my hand. The red-naped sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, is a medium sized-woodpecker. These industrious creatures are denizens of lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains. Both male and female boast red feathered throats; perhaps their most identifiable characteristic. However the red-nape that their name suggests refers to a tiny patch of red at the back of the head/neck. The red-naped sapsucker seek out nooks in soft-barked trees like willow, aspen, poplar and fruit trees where decay has softened generous spaces. Sap suckers develop real estate in their chosen trees over the years: beginning by building out hollows close to the ground and subsequently building spaces higher and higher in the tree. Like all sapsuckers, they eat insects, fruit and sap which flows within trees' cambium layer, the living tissue just beneath the outer protective bark. Insects and other sap-feeding bird life come to rely on sapsucker feeding holes. One might call this crucial behavior characteristic of a keystone species, which by definition, is an organism in the ecosystem that many other species depend upon for continued survival and support. However the opportunistic sapsuckers will also eat the insects attracted to their wells, doing so by the dramatic fly-catching technique made possible by their small tongues. The sap sucker will use its beak and tongue to poke, pry and tap bark for insects, and it's tongue to fly-catch and sip or lick sap.
Next time you hear a slow, irregular tapping in the lowland forests of the Rocky Mountains, keep your eyes peeled for these beautiful creatures and the feeding hot-spots they create.
Sources:
• Rebecca Weiss
• http://www.websters-online-
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
• http://www.allaboutbirds.org/
The gallery of holes, regardless of size, were all carved in the soft bark of the tree by a bird no bigger than my hand. The red-naped sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, is a medium sized-woodpecker. These industrious creatures are denizens of lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains. Both male and female boast red feathered throats; perhaps their most identifiable characteristic. However the red-nape that their name suggests refers to a tiny patch of red at the back of the head/neck. The red-naped sapsucker seek out nooks in soft-barked trees like willow, aspen, poplar and fruit trees where decay has softened generous spaces. Sap suckers develop real estate in their chosen trees over the years: beginning by building out hollows close to the ground and subsequently building spaces higher and higher in the tree. Like all sapsuckers, they eat insects, fruit and sap which flows within trees' cambium layer, the living tissue just beneath the outer protective bark. Insects and other sap-feeding bird life come to rely on sapsucker feeding holes. One might call this crucial behavior characteristic of a keystone species, which by definition, is an organism in the ecosystem that many other species depend upon for continued survival and support. However the opportunistic sapsuckers will also eat the insects attracted to their wells, doing so by the dramatic fly-catching technique made possible by their small tongues. The sap sucker will use its beak and tongue to poke, pry and tap bark for insects, and it's tongue to fly-catch and sip or lick sap.
Next time you hear a slow, irregular tapping in the lowland forests of the Rocky Mountains, keep your eyes peeled for these beautiful creatures and the feeding hot-spots they create.
Sources:
• Rebecca Weiss
• http://www.websters-online-
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
• http://www.allaboutbirds.org/
My lord, I wasn't aware that a bird could do that much damage, let alone one thats as big as your palm. I've never seen markings like that on a tree in any forest or hiking spot I've been too. Are they a rare bird species??
ReplyDelete-Tony Salmeron
Tree Service Asheville