Red-breasted Sapsucker - interesting behavior.
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Kaaren Perry
When I think of Red-breasted Sapsucker I typically think of a medium sized bird foraging on tree trunks, tapping away or peaking around shyly at me from behind the trunk. Yesterday I had a new experience with RBSAs. I was at Hardy Park in Cayucos, birding along the now flowing creek, when an apparent flycatcher caught my eye. A medium sized bird was fluttering above the creek, appearing black and white as it darted about in the air. The bird caught a good sized insect and came to rest at eye level on the side of the tree just beside me. I was surprised to see that it was a Red-breasted Sapsucker! I have seen Acorn Woodpeckers fly catching but this is the first time I can remember ever witnessing such fly catching feeding behavior from a RBSA.
Wondering if for all these years I had been missing something commonly seen by others, I consulted Cornell's online Birds of the World and this is what I learned: In nw. California during the breeding season, 81% of foraging time was spent gleaning, 10% fly-catching, 9% drilling, and only 1% sapsucking . This refers to the breeding season and I could find no reference to non-breeding foraging behaviors in either BOW or Peterson Woodpeckers by Shunk. I now have a renewed appreciation for this common winter visitor to our area. Kaaren Perry Morro Bay |
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Tom Edell
Hi Kaaren,
I suspect the sapsucker was taking advantage of a termite hatch. Termites are often found emerging from the ground following the first rains of the year. Recently I’ve seen a number of bird species hawking termites at Del Mar Park and the Oceano Campground including a Golden-crowned Kinglet at Oceano two days ago.
Tom Edell Cayucos, CA
From: slocobirding@groups.io <slocobirding@groups.io> On Behalf Of Kaaren Perry
Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2022 2:11 PM To: SLOCOBIRDING <slocobirding@groups.io> Subject: [slocobirding] Red-breasted Sapsucker - interesting behavior.
When I think of Red-breasted Sapsucker I typically think of a medium sized bird foraging on tree trunks, tapping away or peaking around shyly at me from behind the trunk. Yesterday I had a new experience with RBSAs. I was at Hardy Park in Cayucos, birding along the now flowing creek, when an apparent flycatcher caught my eye. A medium sized bird was fluttering above the creek, appearing black and white as it darted about in the air. The bird caught a good sized insect and came to rest at eye level on the side of the tree just beside me. I was surprised to see that it was a Red-breasted Sapsucker! I have seen Acorn Woodpeckers fly catching but this is the first time I can remember ever witnessing such fly catching feeding behavior from a RBSA.
Wondering if for all these years I had been missing something commonly seen by others, I consulted Cornell's online Birds of the World and this is what I learned: In nw. California during the breeding season, 81% of foraging time was spent gleaning, 10% fly-catching, 9% drilling, and only 1% sapsucking . This refers to the breeding season and I could find no reference to non-breeding foraging behaviors in either BOW or Peterson Woodpeckers by Shunk.
I now have a renewed appreciation for this common winter visitor to our area.
Kaaren Perry Morro Bay
-- Tom Edell Cayucos, CA |
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