Williamson's Sapsucker
The Williamson's Sapsucker is a handsome woodpecker of the western mountains with a range extending from Montana and Wyoming south into Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, with winter non-breeding range all the way down to southern Mexico. True to their name, they drill holes in trees to get the sap. These images were captured on March 14, 2016 in Summerhaven on N. Loma Linda Extension road, just west of its intersection with Middle Sabino. There were multiple males competing with each other for the best drill sites on the pine trees. We have not seen these birds other times, and my guess is that they were migrating from Mexico to the northern Rockies, and stopped for lunch (OK, probably breakfast, lunch, dinner, some needed rest, water, check out the locals . . . ). I captured over 100 images, and cannot find a female among them. For excellent images of the female, and its contrast to the male, see Tom Grey's Website HERE.
