Yikes, it has been a while since we last spoke. Things have been really busy around Intrigued as of late. This week we launched the new Haunt Channel to start using the video format to showcase our Halloween themed creations. I thought blogging took a bit of work, but video is a whole new ball of worms that will take some getting used to. Also had a chance to get out and bird to pump up my county, state and US tallies. Things are looking up on all those fronts and the current total of 249 species for the Average Year is making me really happy – Ron is probably cursing it ha! (link here not updated). The biggest consumer of time has been in recovery mode. Since being released by the surgeon, I’ve been putting in the hard work to get back in the game. Beyond the gym work, been walking several miles a day and today was the first day I was able to intersperse some short jogs. The usual July ultra is off the table now due to the lack of runway, so the new target is the October ultra. One must have goals no matter how ambitious. In honor of the color my face must have been today, say hello to today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to learn more about this red hued member of the Woodpecker family.
Those that read my last post on the Red-Naped Sapsucker..sorry Sapsipper may have already guessed this post was coming. If you recall, there was some initial confusion regarding the ID of what turned out to be the Red-Naped. Little did I know at the time that I would encounter the Red-Breasted Sapsucker species for the first time a mere 9 days later.
As noted in the previous post, the Red-Naped Sapsuckers are westernish birds with regards to their US regions. They stop short of the far west coast which is where the Red-Breasted prefer to hang out. This species spends all year on the west coast of US and Canada with some slight migration to the east for breeding and some wintering. I suspect my California readers will be very familiar with this wood driller. They can overlap with the Red-Naped during the winter season in western Nevada and southern California.
When I noticed a Red-Naped Sapsucker was again being reported at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in Blue Diamond NV back in January 2024, it didn’t surprise me much. Just outside Las Vegas was in its expected range and I had spotted one in Vegas the prior year. What I was not expecting was to see an entry for the Red-Breasted variety right below it. The entry fee is a bit steep at the Ranch ($15), but there was a lifer potential there and they usually have other regulars like the Spotted Towhee and Juniper Titmouse that bring down the IpS (Investment per Species) factor. For those unfamiliar with that index, it is our primary investment evaluation criteria here at Intrigued which is brought down lower when you include the bonus reduction adjustments for +1s (1/2x for lifers, 1/4x for annual +1s). The investment was a go, but the stress of having to get it in the tin was definitely elevated.
I have covered Spring Mountain Ranch State Park several times before – the lifer Acorn Woodpecker post comes to mind (link here). So far I have had good luck with finding members of the Woodpecker family there (beyond being told the wrong place by a volunteer while on the Acorn Woodpecker hunt). This is in part to the fact their picnic area near the parking lot is lined with tall mature trees which are a nice draw for those that like to bang their head against wood.
No surprise by now, but Linda and I did find it and managed to get a few decent shots of it. It was an overcast and windy day which is not the best shooting conditions. There were very angry skies rolling over the nearby mountains and bringing with it some serious winds. Like the Red Rock Canyon area in Vegas, a deluge of rain can result in serious danger of flash flooding. Eventually Linda decided she was done with the cold wind… and probably embarrassed by my cussing as I tried to keep the barrel of The Beast on target. She headed back to the comfort of the car while I continued trying to get this lifer in the tin.
In the midst of all this a Red-Naped came into the area and was none too pleased with this rarity showing up in its home woods. I’d finally get a clear shot of the Red-Breasted and before I could get any snaps off the Red-Naped would fly in and startle it away. None of those confrontations came out as I was pushing the ISO and shutter down in hopes the Red-Breasted would sit still enough to pull it out of the bad light. Toss in the conflict motion and you basically get a Wassily Kandinsky inspired finger painting.
Continued to chase around after the Red-Breasted specimen, dance around like a fire ant found my privates to get a clear shot, fight the wind to keep the damn thing in the viewfinder before selecting the perfect cuss word to sum up the situation as it left for a better tree. It just occurred to me that this video adventure for the Intrigued Haunt Channel could backfire immensely. If Linda figures out the comedy gold she is sitting on if she were to video tape my bird excursions and put those out for people to see…not good folks!!!
Through all this I was happy I could help out a fellow birder. Noticed while I was galloping about the place there was an older lady with a camera scanning the trees as well. She had apparently latched on to the Red-Naped that was causing havoc with my specimen. The R-N had given up the chase and was apparently hanging out at the set of trees she was shooting at. She ended up walking by and asked if I was looking for the Red-Breasted and relayed that she had just found it. Hmmm, that seemed odd knowing it had just left the tree right next to me – perhaps there were two of them! Curious, I asked her about the Red-Naped that was in the area. You could tell that caused some confusion. We sorted it out, she thought the Red-Naped was the Red-Breasted – deja vu all over again with the experience at Sweetwater. Always eager to help a fellow birder out, helped her get eyes on the real deal before heading back to see if Linda could feel her fingers and toes yet.
Shall we get to some interesting tidbits before we let you go…certainly. Cornell indicates that where the Red-Naped and Red-Breasted have been known to intermingle they produce hybrids that are hard to distinguish – that is all I need, birding is hard enough with natural distinctions, muddy that all up and I’m out. Giving more fodder to my name change argument, the Red-Breasted are really sap sippers with their purpose evolved (or designed, your call) brush tipped tongues. They do prefer Aspen and Alder when creating their sap harvesting rows of holes – my tree knowledge is slightly above nonexistent beyond classifying into pines, oaks, sycamores and birch based purely on those were the trees in our woods growing up. Don’t blame me, I had a parochial education and don’t get me started on my absolute abysmal understanding of geography heheheh.
Lastly, Cornell indicates the Red-Breasted, the Red-Naped and our local variety the Yellow-Bellied were considered the same species until 1983. For the record, we here at Intrigued are pro species splits and opposed to all species combining. Purely science people and nothing to do with bird counts..honestly ha.
Will leave it there folks. This officially leaves me with one Sapsucker still to find, the Williamson’s. If there is anyone out there in say the Colorado region, can you put one in a box (with holes) and send that out to us, we would be much obliged.
Life Intrigued 