Sunday, February 22, 2009

Exciting Rarity at My Feeders-Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker!!

I was so excited to see a yellow-bellied sapsucker (YBSA) at my feeders today!!!! I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink watching the birds out the window and spouted an expletive upon seeing the YBSA. Holy &*%^!!! And here's a first, my camera was locked and loaded on the kitchen table from some shooting I'd done yesterday. Hurray!! My hubby, who thinks (knows) I'm crazy anyway just shook his head as I ever so gingerly opened the sliding glass door onto the deck and snapped a few photos. I e-mailed my birding instructor, Jerry McWilliams, with the news and photos and he told me that yellow-bellied sapsuckers are very rare here in winter and in 45 years of birding he's only seen a couple during winter!! I also had both Carolina Wrens, which he said was good because they often don't survive harsh winters like this one. Oh, yeah, and the Oregon Junco is still hanging around! My feeders were very busy today with 15 different species counted. I took many photos but am reserving this post for the yellow-bellied sapsucker:)



Isn't he a handsome gent!?!?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Super! I'd be that excited, too. Congratulations on getting the photos.

jalynn01 said...

awwww he is so cute!! I don't get this bird at my feeder but I sure love seeing yours. great shots!

troutbirder said...

Thanks for stopping by my little blog. I must say in all the years, including summer, Ive see very very few sapsucker here. Lucky you!

Shelley said...

Outstanding photos of the yellow bellied!! I would've been so excited to see him too!

Anonymous said...

These photos are superb and I love this little bird - something like a lesser-spotted woodpecker over here which I have never seen other than in my bird books. How excited you must have been to manage these photos.

Anonymous said...

These photos are superb and I love this little bird - something like a lesser-spotted woodpecker over here which I have never seen other than in my bird books. How excited you must have been to manage these photos.

Peggy said...

Excellent images! Congrats on a great find!

CountryDreaming said...

What clear shots of this magnificent woodpecker! It's a real treat seeing a Sapsucker. The bottom two photos would make awesome paintings.

Leedra said...

Yes he is a handsome gent. It is so exciting to see a Sapsucker. I have one in my yard at Rockwood. He doesn't come to any feeders. He just eats my tree, well he actually puts holes in the tree to get to the sap I guess. He just stays on the other side of the tree from me.

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