A local friend heard this bird making a racket as it drummed on a wire fence at her house and shared several nice shots. Not surprisingly the drumming was part of a mating routine that’s undertaken by both males and females. Bang, bang, bang. “Hey, baby, what’s up?”
As best I can tell this is a red-breasted sapsucker. I tell you this not just to inform you but because I also find it one of those descriptive but amusing names. Maybe it comes with the territory if you beat your head on a wire fence to attract a mate. But then humans don’t always have very dignified rituals either.
Thank you for the photo, my dear local friend!
Nice catch by the friend! Whenever I come across a tree that bears the marks of a Sapsucker at work I can’t help but spend a few minutes looking around hoping to catch sight of one.
This ol’ sapsucker looks a bit mean…but at least he’s not an old coot, like some folks I know and I’m not going to name names! You should know, however, that in Florida we have lots of ol’ coots and not all of them swim in water. They drink a lot, though.
This one looks quite distinctive!
What an incredible closeup shot. The bird is very striking.