Williamson’s Sapsucker

A male Williamson's sapsucker perches on a tree peppered with holes on the Cerro Grande Route in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico in May 2007. Original: _MG_7688.cr2

A trip to New Mexico in 2007 provided my one and only view of the lovely Williamson’s sapsucker, this is a male perched on a favorite tree. They prefer Ponderosa Pine forests and that’s not a habitat I’ve been in much since. You can see the irregular and regular pattern of holes he’s drilled into the tree to encourage it to secrete the sap he craves. It was a wonderful trip although it had far more import than I could have known as when it came time to look for work a decade later, it got me thinking of New Mexico, which got me thinking about Arizona, and here we are.

A male Williamson's sapsucker shows off his red neck patch and yellow belly while perched on a tree lined with holes on the Cerro Grande Route in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico in May 2007. Original: _MG_7714.cr2

A male Williamson's sapsucker perches on a tree peppered with holes on the Cerro Grande Route in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico in May 2007. Original: CRW_6328.crw

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