Tuesday, 17 December 2024

Re: [cobirds] Boulder Sapsucker ID help please (Boulder County)

Richard,

I think this is most likely an immature female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  It looks like birds I see here in Maryland in the fall/winter.  I think an immature male would be showing at least a hint of red feathering coming in on the throat given the extent of red showing on this bird the top of its head.

Jim Nelson

Bethesda, Maryland

On 12/17/2024 6:43 PM, 'Richard Trinkner' via Colorado Birds wrote:
Hi folks,

This morning I photographed a sapsucker at the Boulder Community Gardens. My tentative ID is that it's a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, but it confuses me because it doesn't show white wing patches. I'd appreciate any ID suggestions. 


I'm thinking that this bird is a young female, transitioning between juvenile and adult plumage. There's a red patch on the top of the head but a white throat patch. It's speckled overall, with a general dark appearance. It has faint yellow coloring to the belly. Maybe the white wing patches are actually covered by the wind-blown chest feathers. 

I saw the same bird exactly a week ago to the hour on the same tree. It puzzled me a week ago because I didn't see white wing patches then either.  A week ago, I didn't have my camera.

The habitat is north-central Boulder on the edge of a suburban housing development about 3/4 east of the foothills. 

Thanks,

Richard Trinkner
Boulder County


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