[birdky] yellow-bellied sapsucker question

 

I have a question for the biologists out there:  Do yellow-bellied
sapsuckers suck sap?  I have been watching them these last few weeks quite a
bit at The Arboretum in Lexington.  They never hammer loudly like other
woodpeckers do; instead, they work the holes they have made by repeatedly
inserting their beaks.  They sure look like they are sucking sap!  I see no
evidence of insects gathering around the holes they are working.  A
colleague suggested they only eat the insects that gather around the sap.  I
would love to do a little display in our Visitor Center about these guys but
I thought I'd ask the experts before I start surfing the web!  Thanks!

 

Roberta Burnes

Education Coordinator at The Arboretum, Kentucky's State Botanical Garden

Fayette County

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