Leaving soon for their northern breeding grounds, yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius) are here now drilling sap wells and leaving neat, straight lines and rows of shallow holes in the bark of trees. Listen for squeals, squeaks and loud drumming. Look for the sapsuckers clinging to and skipping up tree trunks, boring and maintaining wells, and feeding— sipping sap, picking pieces of softer wood from the cambium layer, and grabbing insects trapped in the wells. Sapsuckers may also visit your neighborhood trees and suet feeders, and they’ll drum out territorial tap-tap-tap - - - tap-tap - - - tap-tap-taps on the house gutters, street signs, or objects in your garden.
