Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker is not just an insult offered by Yosemite Sam; it is a woodpecker. Rarely seen in the western USA states, these birds breed in the northeastern USA. Spring and summer finds them spread widely across Canada, from the Yukon Territory to the Maritime Provinces, and into Alaska. They spend their winters in the southeastern USA, Mexico and Central America.
Ornithologists used to believe Red-Naped and Red-Breasted Sapsuckers were subspecies of this woodpecker. Today’s taxonomists view Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers as monotypic (i.e. no subspecies recognised).
I first met these birds on their breeding grounds in Canada (Alberta and British Columbia) during my 2005 expedition to Alaska. My next meeting was not until sixteen years later, when I found them at their winter homes in Big Bend National Park (Texas). I returned to Canada in 2022, spending two months meandering through their western and prairie provinces, and enjoyed their company again.
Sapsuckers drill holes in trees that cause the sap to flow to the surface into the holes they have drilled. These birds drink the sweet sap and eat any insects that get trapped. Often other species will exploit the sap and the insects that are drawn to the sugary bounty.
All sapsucker species announce their territorial claims by drumming on hard surfaces. I’ve heard them tapping on metal road signs. They all sound very similar to one another. I think the cadence is reminiscent of the drum riff known as “Shave And A Haircut”.
23 Photos
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: (Sphyrapicus varius) I met this bird at Little Lake, Alberta, Canada 2005-06-04. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:04 8:40 |
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Location:
Little Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/9.5, 1/350 |
File Name: JCD3363YellowBelliedSapSucker |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Charlie Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:09 12:01 |
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Location:
Charlie Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 500 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 |
File Name: JCD3910YellowBelliedSapsucker |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Charlie Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:09 14:02 |
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Location:
Charlie Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 490 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: JCD3935YellowBelliedSapsucker |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Male in Fort Nelson, BC, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:12 10:42 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 |
File Name: JCD4113YellowBelliedSapsucker |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Male in Fort Nelson, BC, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:12 10:53 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/6.0, 1/160 |
File Name: JCD4157YellowBelliedSapsucker |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Juvenile in Fort Nelson, BC, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:12 14:10 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: JCD4222YellowBelliedSapsuckerJuv |
| © 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers winter in the southeastern USA and south through Texas, Mexico and Central America. They all leave their winter homes to travel as far north as Canada and eastern Alaska to raise the next generation. With spring migration on South Padre Island (Texas) picking up, there’s no other place I’d rather be in April. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:02 10:03 |
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Location:
Sheepshead Bird Sanctuary |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X9571-SheepsheadBirdSanctuary |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers were many in Cottonwood Camp, and their work on the mesquite trees was enjoyed by several other species. I drove from Terlingua Texas to Santa Elena Canyon via the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, and stopped to enjoy several places on the way. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:02 13:25 |
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Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X6779-CottonwoodCamp |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: There were plenty of woodpeckers in camp, but these sapsuckers outnumbered all the rest. Cottonwood Camp is a primitive site eight miles from the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. I was lucky to book a night's stay and enjoy one of the birdiest sites in Big Bend National Park. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:03 11:22 |
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Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X7926-CottonwoodCamp |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Red-Naped Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus nuchalis) |
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Description: I originally misidentified this bird as a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, but it has been kindly pointed out that it is a Red-Naped Sapsucker. There were plenty of woodpeckers in camp, but these sapsuckers outnumbered all the rest. Cottonwood Camp is a primitive site eight miles from the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. I was lucky to book a night's stay and enjoy one of the birdiest sites in Big Bend National Park. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:03 11:30 |
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Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X7939-CottonwoodCamp |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
|
Description: There were plenty of woodpeckers in camp, but these sapsuckers outnumbered all the rest. Cottonwood Camp is a primitive site eight miles from the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. I was lucky to book a night's stay and enjoy one of the birdiest sites in Big Bend National Park. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:03 11:36 |
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Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X8027-CottonwoodCamp |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Well away from the dominant Golden-Fronted Woodpeckers, I found this sapsucker at work in this tree. In Langtry Texas there is a museum run by the Texas DOT and dedicated to the memory of Judge Roy Bean, who was a colorful Texan figure in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Outside the visitor center is a lovely cactus garden replete with many of the native birds. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:08 9:08 |
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Location:
Roy Bean Visitor Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_D5X9153-Langtry-TX |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: After arriving from a long drive at Slave Lake Alberta, I stopped at Northshore Beach on the way to my camp at Marten River Campground at Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Most of the birds stay high in the canopy, but a few graced me with closer looks. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:27 11:53 |
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Location:
Northshore Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8503622-LesserSlaveLake.NorthShoreBeach |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I met my first Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers in these woods in 2005. The best location in Fort Nelson to meet birds is Demonstration Forest at the northwest corner of town. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:24 17:11 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8504420-FortNelson |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I met my first Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers in these woods in 2005. The best location in Fort Nelson to meet birds is Demonstration Forest at the northwest corner of town. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:24 17:11 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8504439-FortNelson |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: Sapsuckers can be tricky to ID, but none of its cousins range as far north as the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. I met this black-crowned female at the Beaver Boardwalk in Hinton Alberta. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:26 11:20 |
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Location:
Beaver Boardwalk |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8503028-Hinton.AB-BeaverBoardwalk |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I drove 20 minutes from Tiny Shores to Midland Ontario, to spend the day at the Wye Marsh Nature Reserve, a place known for its key role in the recovery of Trumpeter Swans. |
Date Taken: 2023:05:19 11:35 |
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Location:
Wye Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapSucker_Z9X7850_WyeMarsh-Midland-Ont-CA |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I drove 20 minutes from Tiny Shores to Midland Ontario, to spend the day at the Wye Marsh Nature Reserve, a place known for its key role in the recovery of Trumpeter Swans. |
Date Taken: 2023:05:19 11:40 |
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Location:
Wye Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapSucker_Z9X7895_WyeMarsh-Midland-Ont-CA |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I drove 20 minutes from Tiny Shores to Midland Ontario, to spend the day at the Wye Marsh Nature Reserve, a place known for its key role in the recovery of Trumpeter Swans. |
Date Taken: 2023:05:19 11:41 |
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Location:
Wye Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapSucker_Z9X8000_WyeMarsh-Midland-Ont-CA |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I drove 20 minutes from Tiny Shores to Midland Ontario, to spend the day at the Wye Marsh Nature Reserve, a place known for its key role in the recovery of Trumpeter Swans. |
Date Taken: 2023:05:19 11:41 |
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Location:
Wye Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapSucker_Z9X8010_WyeMarsh-Midland-Ont-CA |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: After my first visit to Wye Marsh in Midland Ontario four days earlier, I felt there were more species I wanted to meet. I returned Monday morning, and I tried to collect images of the birds I missed before. |
Date Taken: 2023:05:22 9:28 |
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Location:
Wye Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/320 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_Z9X9128_WyeMarsh-Midland-Ont-CA |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
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Description: I met my first Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers in these woods in 2005. The best location in Fort Nelson to meet birds is Demonstration Forest at the northwest corner of town. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:24 16:53 |
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Location:
Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8504323-FortNelson |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker(Sphyrapicus varius) |
|
Description: Sapsuckers can be tricky to ID, but none of its cousins range as far north as the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. I met this black-crowned female at the Beaver Boardwalk in Hinton Alberta. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:26 11:22 |
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Location:
Beaver Boardwalk |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: YellowBelliedSapsucker_8503047-Hinton.AB-BeaverBoardwalk |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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