On Saturday morning as I was sitting and watching the birds come and go from our feeders. I noticed several birds that I knew where not regular woodpeckers because of a patch of red on their throat. So I quickly grabbed my camera to get a few pic's of them so I could ID them. I found out that they are Yellow Bellied Sap Suckers. This male sat long enough for me to get some pic's of him. There were also some females in the group of about 4 but did not sit long enough for a photo shoot. I also found out that many people do not like them because of the damage they do to trees, especially Pine trees. We do see the holes they have made in our pine trees, but that is nature for you. I love seeing them no matter what.
What a handsome bird your Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker is Tooty. It resembles our Great spotted Woodpecker with its colouring but has more red than ours have and I think our birds are larger. I really don't mind the 'woodies' here even although they take other birds eggs and nestlings if they can. As you say "that is nature for you" and every creature has the right to live as they see fit. I feel privileged that they come into my garden to feed on the fat cakes I put out. Thank you so much for sharing your photographs with us as I love to see birds that we don't get over here.
Eileen I also love seeing birds from other countries that we do not get over here either. I just checked out the Greater Spotted Woody and the Lesser Spotted Woody. I believe this Sapsucker is about the size of the Lesser Spotted. Their markings are quite similar. Both are really beautiful Woodpeckers. Such fun. Kildale --Yes these Woodies are such fun to see. We enjoy watching them all.
