Blizzards of 2010: Red-Bellied Woodpecker and Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Let's maximize the red in the photo with a male cardinal and a male red-bellied woodpecker.

Here the male red-bellied woodpecker defends the suet feeder from the nearby starling while a female red-bellied woodpecker flies away.

Like the other woodpeckers, the red-bellied woodpecker enjoys the sap on the maples even if he has to dodge the icicles.  

Here the red-bellied woodpecker perches on the oak branches.

And here is the reason the red-bellied woodpecker is called red-bellied.  It is very hard to see this patch of red when he is attached to a tree trunk.  The other woodpecker in the photo is a yellow-bellied sapsucker.  

The yellow-bellied sapsucker shows up every year  in the Colvin Run Habitat during the middle two weeks of February.  Clearly a migratory time, as the yellow-bellied sapsucker usually winters south of Northern Virginia and summers north. In this photo, the yellow-bellied sapsucker enjoys the maple sap (of course) during the morning after.  The second blizzard delivered over 8" of snow to the branch.  For the record, the second storm delivered 30" of snow to the Habitat.  The winter total was over 70" setting a season record at nearby Dulles Airport.

Migration Underway: Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

This week in 2007, I observed for the first time a yellow-bellied sapsucker. Yes, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is real and not a fictional bird. Since that time in 2007, the yellow-bellied sapsucker has not been seen. Until this morning.
This morning, two yellow-bellied sapsuckers - a male and female (chin and throat red in male, white in female). They were both on the same maple tree. In fact, it was only when I looked closely at the photos that I realized these were two different birds.
Given the timing of these two observations and limited observations, it is clear that these are migrating woodpeckers. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is the only woodpecker in eastern North America that is completely migratory. [Cornell] That is, their summer and winter regions do not over lap; or, they do not stay in one region year around.
After some additional study, two other observations. First, it is clear that the yellow-bellied sapsucker has been in the Colvin Run Habitat for the last week or so based on the song provided at [Cornell]. Second, shown in the last photo are deep round holes that the sapsucker inserts its bill into to probe for sap and rectangular holes which are shallower. New holes usually are made in a line with old holes, or in a new line above the old.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Arrives for First Time

As if not be left out of the 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count, a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was observed in the Colvin Run Habitat for the very first time.