Sapsucker Snooping

On the first of my wildflower walks this spring, I heard what sounded like baby sapsuckers screaming for food. But it seemed way too early. And I could not find where the sound was coming from. But I did find an adult Red-breasted Sapsucker feeding in our hybrid poplar trees... on bugs? sap? bugs caught in sticky bud sap? It would fly west but I always lost sight of it in the trees. I knew of a big old maple nearby with two round sapsucker holes, but I never managed to see the bird there. And never heard that alleged begging sound again.

One day I even sat down in the trail to watch the feeding sapsucker  and try to follow his flight path. That later turned out to be a big mistake. Not only did I not manage to see where it had gone, I did manage to pick up a tick without knowing it until the next day. The tick has been extricated but I'm still itching and tick shy. 

Nevertheless, in a break in the weather, I headed back two days ago, April 9th, and watched again. No luck following the bird but I did hear pecking, like it was working on a dead tree. I walked to the big maple with the holes and there the bird was, diligently drilling the top hole bigger, or at least widening it inside.

the tree with holes in center of photo

 

the bird with his head in the top hole

 The baby begging sound I heard originally remains a mystery. Was it courting noises? Where is the mate to this diligent bird? 

Every few days, whenever the weather allows, I go back and stare at the holes and at the hybrid poplars where the sapsucker was working. Once I saw two of them working the poplars. But for the last few days up through Easter Sunday, no sapsuckers in view anywhere down in the woods. But there is one working up by our house. Same one? Different one? I guess the mystery will continue...