[Leica] IMG: Williamson's Sapsucker

[Doug Herr]

This particular aspen grove has not been touched by recent fires.  Closer to home, Lake Tahoe’s fires in the last decade or so have caused some disruptions with a few species temporarily displacing others.  Longer term trends I’ve been seeing are a gradual shifting northward of several species, now common in northern California where in past decades they were unusual or even absent.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com <http://www.wildlightphoto.com/>


> On Jun 13, 2020, at 5:36 AM, Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> 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 <mailto: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 <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>
>> <
>> 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/> <http://www.wildlightphoto/ <http://www.wildlightphoto/>>.com
>> 
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