[Leica] IMG: Williamson's Sapsucker

[Don Dory]

How have the past years fires affected your passion.   The loss of habitat
in northern California surely caused many dislocations.

On Fri, Jun 12, 2020, 9:25 PM Doug Herr via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:

> The Williamson’s Sapsucker is a woodpecker of the mountains of western
> North America.  Living in remote forests, it can be difficult to find
> reliably but one particular grove of aspens in a mixed conifer/aspen zone
> above 6300’ elevation has been my go-to spot for at least a decade.
>
> The grove is several miles from the nearest paved road but fortunately the
> gravel road is in good enough condition for ordinary vehicles w/o high
> clearance or 4WD.  This is where I found myself one day this week.
>
> My plan was to find a nest site, set up a blind nearby to allow for
> adequate lighting and decent backgrounds, and wait.  Having visited the
> grove the week before I knew the birds were in the area so I began the day
> by looking for likely nest trees: a large dead aspen with several older
> nest cavities seemed a likely prospect, and the scattered wood chips at the
> base of the tree suggested recent excavation.  I then set up the blind
> nearby and waited.
>
> No more than 5 minutes passed before one of the adults flew to the tree
> with a bill full of bugs.  Refining my blind’s position for photos and
> waiting several hours resulted in numerous photos, two of which are here:
>
> male Williamson’s Sapsucker
>
>
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy11.html
> <
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy11.html
> >
>
> female Williamson’s Sapsucker
>
>
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html
> <
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/thyroideus/sphthy10.html
> >
>
> This species is unusual among woodpeckers for its plumage differences
> between the sexes.  When european-americans first encountered this bird
> they believed the male and the female were separate species because of the
> striking difference.
>
> As usual, all comments are welcome.
>
> Doug Herr
> Birdman of Sierra County
> http://www.wildlightphoto <http://www.wildlightphoto/>.com
>
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