This winter if you see a woodpecker that doesn’t quite look like any of the usual woodpeckers you regularly see you probably have a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A little smaller than a Red-bellied Woodpecker at about 8 ½” in length , the Sapsucker gets its name from its telltale habit of creating evenly spaced holes around a tree trunk or large shrub to release sap to feed on. The drilling does not kill the tree because the tree is not being girdled. Note: I have a Viburnum at my home that is 25 years old and riddled with Sapsucker holes. It leafs out and blooms every year.

The Sapsucker is a fairly common winter visitor across the state of TN found in residential yards as well as in woodlands. It is a handsome bird known for its red forecrown on a black and white head; the chin and throat are red on male, white on the female. The back is blackish with a varying pattern, with a white rump and large white wing patch. The underparts of the bird are yellowish, paler on a female. They clearly stand out among our usual woodpeckers.

Suet is a good choice to attract Sapsuckers, although I do see them going to fine sunflower hearts presented in a finch feeder. I use mainly peanut butter suet and see sapsuckers feed there all winter. Video Other things to try are fruit and nectar. Nectar can be offered in a standard hummingbird feeder and sapsuckers may find this a suitable supplement to tree sap. After all, many of you see Downy woodpeckers feeding on hummingbird feeders all summer long. Sapsuckers have the same long tongue that can wick nectar out of the feeder. Sapsuckers generally leave this area by mid-April and head back north to their breeding areas. Look for this bird and let us know if you see one.

Notable sightings in TN this past week include Pacific Loon at Percy Priest Lake and a

Black-chinned Hummingbird in McMinn County, TN. I spent a day at Centerhill Lake recently and saw at least a dozen Common Loons.

Winter tends to be our wet weather time of the year. Soaking rains can present a number of problems at feeders, especially feeders that contain shelled offerings like sunflower hearts, Premium Blend, shelled peanuts, and suet. Everyone who’s fed birds for any length of time has encountered the awful experience of cleaning out a feeder full of wet, ruined seed. It’s really messy and it stinks, and your investment in the more expensive seeds is lost. Try protecting your investment with one of the many weather guards, or hanging squirrel baffles, available for a variety of feeders. Hanging Squirrel Baffles are just larger versions of weather guards thus offering optimum weather protection.

Hello all,

It looks like another interesting weather weekend to hunker down and keep an eye on birdfeeders. All this wet weather does create some issues, however, that we would like to offer some prevention and maintenance tips for.

Mesh feeders like a shelled peanut or nyjer feeder are particularly troublesome in wet weather. As are feeders containing shelled sunflower. Such feeders really do benefit from a weather guard. The more rain you can keep off the feed the longer it will stay in good condition for the birds to consume and reduce your need to clean out clumped, rotting food. Yuck! Really wet feed is unpleasant to deal with.

Wire mesh peanut feeder with weather guard.

Aspects seed tube with weather guard and tray.

But even regular tube type feeders can collect moisture that settles to the bottom where a wet mess can turn into an unhealthy situation for your birds. Be a little more vigilante of feeder conditions at this time. Avoid refilling your feeder when there is a mass of wet clumped seed at the bottom. Weather guards of one kind or another can benefit tube feeders as well. And squirrel baffles serve well as weather guards. They are usually just larger versions of a weather guard.

Some feeders, like Aspects brand, have a very convenient push-button release base that allows you to clean out caked wet seed from the bottom in just seconds.

Clorox wipes are very handy for cleaning around feed ports. When the whole feeder isn’t ready for a cleaning just a quick wipe where the birds actually feed is very helpful to prevent unhealthy conditions.

If you have a platform feeder be very conservative about filling it in wet weather. Being totally exposed to the elements any seed out of the shell will deteriorate quickly. In the shell seeds are generally fine as long as the platform feeder has ample drainage, like a screened bottom. When I anticipate a period of rain I avoid adding any more seed to the platform feeder until the rain subsides. And before I refill it I use a putty knife, or old spatula, to quickly remove wet shell remnants.

If your tube type feeder has a tray the accumulation of shells and moisture can clog the drainage holes. Wiping the shell remnants out is easy enough using paper towels or a rag. Toothpicks are handy for cleaning out the drainage holes. And as always a good birdfeeder brush is essential to give tube feeders a deep cleaning. Warm soapy water is usually adequate but if you’ve let your feeder get really bad a mild solution of bleach and water and a few hours soaking might be necessary.

None of us really like cleaning our feeders but it really is a good and necessary thing to do if you enjoy this wonderful hobby. We hope some of these suggestions help and keep thinking sunny thoughts. The sun is bound to come back out sometime.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Wet Weather Bird feeding Help

Wet weather woe's?

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