How to ID these unique woodpeckers by their elaborate sap gardens and the stuttering cadence of pecks

Sapsuckers a specialized type of woodpecker have some unique characteristics includingthat they drill precise rows of holes to ensure a steady flow of the sweet stuff, have strange, hairy tongues and peck in a distinctive stuttering cadence, says naturalist Brian Keating.

The reason the woodpeckers can keep the sap flowingis they tap into atree's natural response to bleed sap whenever itsbark is punctured it's a way to seal off the hole to preventpathogens and infection from entering the wound.

As naturalist Brian KeatingtoldThe Homestretch, sapsuckers are essentially sap farmers.

"They feed at what's known as sap wells, which are the neat rows of shallow holes that they drill in tree bark," Keating said. "They're neatly organized rows. It looks like an engineer had gone in and laid out the process."

There are four species of sapsuckers in Canada, all of which are a type of woodpecker. But they are a very specialized woodpecker becausethey have some unique characteristics, Keating said, not the least of which is the way they consume the sap.

"They don't really suck it, they've got a tongue that has a weird series of hairs at the tip of the tongue. So they lap it," he said. "It'salmost like the tongue has a brush on the tip."

The other ways to distinguish sapsuckers are their appearance and their signature pecking sound. Their drumming is slower and more irregular than other woodpeckers, including themost common here in Alberta, the flicker.

"It's kind of a stuttering cadence, it'slike somebody tapping [out]Morse code."

Like flickers, the sapsuckers will also sit atop a chimney top and tap out its distinct pattern against the metal.

In appearance, sapsuckers are mostly black and white with bold patterns on their faces, Keating said. They have a red forehead males will also have a red throatand females have a whitish throat. They're a bit bigger than a Downy woodpecker.

In some cases, these elaborate rows ofholes can do serious damage to trees, Keating said, adding that up to 50 or 60 per cent of the trees can eventually succumb to the wounds thatsapsuckerscreate.

"They seem to choose sick or wounded trees for the drilling," he said. "But they like to choose trees that have high sugar concentrations, saps like paper and yellow birch and sugar and redmaple and hickory."

Keating said sapsuckers also seem to prefer fast-growing trees in young forests and areas regenerating from a timber harvest.

Sapsuckers are fully migratory, travelling as far south as Panama.

"Just like the people who tap maple trees to get maple syrup, these birds initially drill their wells when they come up in the spring," he said. "And in some parts of Canada,ruby-throated hummingbirds rely so much on the sapwells because they feed on that sap, which can have up to 10 per cent sugar in the spring."

Keating said other birds, especially hummingbirds,as well as porcupines and bats, are also known to feed at the sap wells.

The wells are drilled neatly and methodically, Keating said.In spring, the holes are narrow and deep, going all the way to the inner part of the trunk, to get to the sap as it moves upward toward the leaves.

After the tree is leafy, the sapsucker drills more shallow, rectangular holes. In this way, the woodpecker can feed on both sap and also any insects that may befound under the bark, Keating said.

For more fascinating stories about Alberta's wildlife from naturalist Brian Keating, visit hiswebsiteand check out these stories:

• Calgary naturalist recounts memorable sighting of grizzly bear family
• Alberta has 7 species of cicada and they're among the loudest insects on the planet
• From finches to robins, it's not uncommon for birds to build their homes on your homes
• Rare black ground squirrel spotted in Banff alpine area

With files fromThe Homestretchand Pamela Fieber