MSGID: 1:317/3 630a5bc3   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    EPOD - a service of USRA   
      
   The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes   
   and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and   
   archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory   
   captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The   
   community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and   
   relevant links.   
      
      
    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in North Carolina   
      
      August 26, 2022   
      
       PattiW_DSC02848 (005)   
      
       PattiW_IMG_9459 (005)   
      
      Photographer:  Patti Weeks   
      
      Summary Author:  Patti Weeks   
      
      The  Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is “one of the   
      most migratory of woodpeckers,” as stated on the  audubon.org   
      website. Thus, this male sapsucker, whose photo I took February 3,   
      2022, on a  sugar maple tree in an eastern North Carolina arboretum,   
      departed this spring for a breeding ground somewhere in the   
      northeastern United States, eastern Alaska or Canada. The range of this   
      sapsucker’s breeding territory has edged even further northward   
      however, due to global warming. The  Yellow-bellied sapsucker’s   
      winter territory includes the southern and southeastern United States,   
      Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. Territories of the other   
      sapsuckers (Red-napped, Red-breasted and Williamson’s) are further west   
      in the U.S. and Canada.   
      
      The sapsucker perches vertically on the tree trunk, propping itself   
      with its tail, and drills holes in neat rows (as seen in the second   
      photo on a  pecan tree.) It returns to the “ sapwells” to consume   
      the sap as it oozes (inset is a close-up photo of oozing sapwells on a   
      sugar maple). The moniker ‘sapsucker’ is misleading, as the bird   
      actually sips the sap with hairlike structures on its tongue. Up to   
      1,000 trees and woody plants have been identified as food sources for   
      Yellow-bellied sapsuckers, but they prefer maple and  birch trees.   
      They also feed on insects, fruit, berries and nuts. Sapsuckers are   
      considered a “ keystone” species, providing a crucial role in the   
      health of their surrounding ecological community.  Many other   
      organisms are drawn to the sap, including bees, wasps, butterflies,   
      squirrels, bats and other types of birds, particularly hummingbirds. In   
      some areas, as many as 35 bird species have been reported to feed on   
      the sap and the insects it attracts.   
      
       Patti_inset   
      
      The elevation of the Yellow-bellied sapsucker’s range can vary from   
      10,000 ft. (3200 meters) to sea level. The Pitt County Arboretum here   
      in Greenville, North Carolina is 56 ft (17 m) above sea level. Perhaps   
      I will see this fella again, when it returns here to its wintering   
      territory.   
      
      
      Pitt County Arboretum, Greenville, North Carolina Coordinates: 35.6396,   
      -77.3606   
      
       Frozen Sap of a Yellow Birch Tree   
      
       Harvesting Maple Syrup   
      
      
      Categories:  _AnimalLinks |  Animals |  Trees & Shrubs |   
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