The Nature of Things

An infrequent but always welcome winter visitor to my backyard is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Just this week, I have observed my first one of this winter.  This medium-sized woodpecker spends its summers in the far northern parts of the United States and in Canada, but in fall and winter, it wanders south and some of them make their way to the Gulf Coast and even farther south, into Mexico and Central America. The bird prefers mixed woodlands for its habitat. It nests in such places and is especially fond of aspens. In winter, it also prefers woodlands for its home, but is not so picky about the kinds of trees it contains.  Sapsuckers get their name from their habit of drilling small holes in the bark of trees from which they sip the sap and also feed on the insects that are attracted to the flowing sap. Many other birds, including hummingbirds, make use of the tiny holes to extract sap or catch insects. Some of the insects attracted to the holes include flies, butterflies a...