Yellow-Bellied SapsuckerMay 2005

 


I had never seen a yellow-bellied sapsucker before. For that matter, I haven't come across him since. But one day, almost as soon as I went through the short trail from Cooper's Pond to the game land, there he was: a yellow-bellied sapsucker high in a tree.

It was a bright day with strong shadows, so it was a question of waiting until he (since the female doesn't have any red) worked his way around the tree trunk.

The first shot has a key feature: a strong red on both the top and bottom of his face.
 
Yellow-bellied sapsucker around the trunk
 
Although the yellow doesn't stand out particularly well, I like the way the following photo came out.
 

Yellow-bellied sapsucker, with drilling holes
 
  Toward the top right of the photo you can also see a few of the neat holes that the yellow-bellied sapsucker had drilled for himself.

Photo note: I used a Pentax *istD, with SMC 400-600 reflex lens.



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