The other day I noticed a yellow birch tree with a grid pattern of elongated holes in it. Knowing it to be the work of a type of woodpecker called a sapsucker and having seen these similar groups of holes many times, I did a little research. There is only one type, the Yellow-bellied sapsucker, in our area here in the Northeast.

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers were first identified around 1729 by an English naturalist named Mark Catesby. There are no recognized subspecies. They are medium-sized birds and Cornell states that they are about as big as a Robin.

The male and female are somewhat similar in color with the female being duller. The easiest way to tell them apart is the red chin and throat of the male versus the white of the female.

Like other woodpeckers, the Yellow-bellied sapsucker drums on hollow dead hardwood trees as a form of communication. Scientists are not sure exactly why they do this, but suspect it has something to do with nesting and breeding.

The birds are native to North America, the West Indies and Central America. They are occasionally but rarely found in Great Britain and Ireland. Biologists aren’t sure why individual birds sometimes end up there.

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers prefer deciduous and mixed coniferous forests. Their primary diet is insects, tree sap, fruits and nuts although they also eat the Cambium layer of trees, other fibers of trees called bast, berries and buds. About half of the adult’s diet is insects.

A clutch of four to seven eggs is laid in a nest built by both parents. Nests are made in live hardwood trees usually with rotten heartwood. Excavation of the cavity is done primarily by the male.

The Yellow-bellied sapsucker exhibits very interesting habits in feeding the young. The bird bores arrays of holes in the tree so that it oozes sap to catch insects. They then select specific sized insects, and usually coat them with sap, to feed to the chicks based on their age.

Let me try to explain that a little better. When the chicks are young, the adults feed them small bugs coated in sap. As the chicks grow and get larger, the adults feed them progressively larger insects (again coated in high-energy sap). I keep saying it, but isn’t nature amazing?

The most common predator of our sapsuckers is the raccoon, especially if the nest is not made deep enough. Another common predator is snakes.

Trees often recover from the holes bored by the birds to collect sap, although sometimes they do get killed. Certain species of tree, like white birch for example, are more susceptible than others.

The Yellow-bellied sapsucker has an extensive range and is listed as a species of least concern, although their numbers do continue to trend down due to mankind’s insatiable thirst for development. They are fully protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

There are three other kinds of sapsuckers in the world. All can be found in the United States.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.