Our cat, Hershey, was probably wondering where the bird went, just as I was. So, the subject here is the holes made by the Red-breasted Sapsucker. Upon first sighting of these holes, I wouldn't have known what woodpecker made them. But for several summers in a row, I saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker on my birch trees. Then, I looked up the bird in a field guide and found that it prefers deciduous trees over conifers, and that its holes are usually wider than tall and are made in horizontal rows. This sample from my neighbor's birch tree checks out on all points.
From now on, I think I will recognize the drilling of this bird on other trees. In fact, I think I've seen them on a small ornamental tree planted in the median strip of one of the college's parking lots. I think I'll start parking there until that hypothesis is confirmed or rejected by an actual sighting. My distance vision is not very good, so this way I can be a bird-watcher over a short distance - even while sitting in my car!
I brought this particular log indoors to burn in our wood stove. At first, I was tempted to add it to my collectibles - or collectables; not sure which - a topic for my next blog post. Tentative title: Musings of a Pack Rat.
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