Birds and Nature

I was able to get a little better pic, albeit a back view, of this Williamson's Sapsucker, that I have added as the top pic. Today I also found this female Williamson's Sapsucker in Canon City,CO today, but this one was feeding in the pines at Centennial Park, another location that has hosted wintering sapsuckers over the past 6 years. This female was high up the tree and quite shy so the pic is not as good as some of the other sapsucker pics. SeEtta

I found this male Red-naped Sapsucker yesterday, also on the grounds of the Abbey in Canon City,CO. Red-naped Sapsuckers have occasionally wintered in Canon City. They are also a species that is known to migrate south, even further south than Williamson's, to winter in south New Mexico and West Texas as well as Mexico. This male shows a clear though not extensive red nape. I added the bottom pic as it shows well the difference in back pattern between Red-naped and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers with this species showing 2 rows of white feathers that are fairly well demarcated (while the white on the back of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers is much more diffuse). SeEtta

Canon City, CO has hosted wintering sapsuckers every year for the past 7 years when I found the first one, also a Williamson's, on the grounds of the Abbey (a former monastery and Catholic boarding school with a large campus that has hundreds of trees of diverse species). I found the female Williamson's Sapsucker in these photos a week ago in the same location on the Abbey grounds as most of the sapsuckers that have previously wintered in Canon City. Williamson's Sapsuckers generally migrate south to winter in New Mexico and down into Mexico. I included the bottom pic because it shows some of the underside of this sapsucker including a small amount of the pretty lemon yellow belly that distinguishes this species.  Also the black breast band found on adult female Williamson's.  More sapsuckers in following posts.  SeEtta