During our Montana camping trip last week we found a dead aspen that had five nest holes in various stages of excavation and use.
When we first noticed the tree and the holes I positioned my truck a respectful distance away (using some sapling aspen between us and the tree to provide more security for the birds) and it immediately became obvious that House Wrens were carrying nesting material to several of the holes. Those holes can be seen in the bottom third if the tree in this shot.
Two of the holes were very close to each other and the one at lower right was incomplete. I was slightly surprised by its conical shape though I shouldn’t have been.
The activity of the wrens at the holes created a lot of interest from other species including Tree Swallows, Mountain Chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Red-breasted Nuthatches that regularly flitted around in the area. It was an exciting time for two bird photographers though the light angle and shooting conditions were challenging. It was so exciting that I think of this tree as the “Glory Hole Aspen”.
But we were blown away when this guy showed up – a male Williamson’s Sapsucker! He spent most of his time at this spot where there were some sap wells (that you can’t quite see at this angle). We photographed him over two mornings and on the second day…
he spent time in and near one of the nest holes.
Possession of this hole was being contested by some very aggressive Tree Swallows and since the sapsuckers apparently hadn’t actually started nesting yet I suspect the male was claiming his turf by his presence. I also suspect that all five of the holes were excavated by the sapsuckers even though wrens were using at least two of them. Williamson’s Sapsuckers usually excavate in conifers and to find their holes in aspen trees is somewhat unusual.
Unlike all other woodpeckers Williamson’s Sapsuckers exhibit spectacular sexual dimorphism (which I was unaware of at the time) so when this bird unexpectedly showed up I was momentarily flabbergasted. I remember saying to Mia “What the hell is that?” even though at the moment I said it I realized it must be the female sapsucker. It was.
She also spent some of her time at the sap wells.
I was hugely disappointed by the fact that those sap wells were right next to the place on the tree where someone had scratched their initials and the date “2004”. I despise seeing anything carved into trees by humans – to me it’s just another form of malicious vandalism of public property (National Forest in this case) except it’s even worse because this kind of graffiti can’t be repaired, it’s unsightly, it’s unhealthy for the trees because it allows fungal infections to take hold and it shortens the life span of the tree.
Doing so in National Forests and National Grasslands is illegal and punishable by fine for precisely that reason.
Ron
Right now the trees in the the river valley have been painted red and I see red on more than the tree.Like bothe of your photos-this is a first for me. So glad you shared.
I think you are married…to Mia, her camera, your camera, the natural environment, camping, Montana, the wildlife (especially the landscapes and birds) you love….and Jerry Liguori….not bad! (..”marriage” is a committed relationship)….I envy you for all of them…..
These birds are so colorful and beautiful that it must be very exciting every time you see them, much less get such great images!
How special to get to see these gorgeous sapsuckers! I envy you greatly for that. I think I like anything woodpecker… and I’ve never seen these. I hear you about carving into trees.
I suspect that many of us would pay for the privilege of decorating a graffiti artist or two. I certainly would.
I worry about a mind set which thinks of true love – and reaches for a knife. Or a spray can.
Dragging myself away from those thoughts – thank you for the beauty you gave us today. Ooh and ahhh. And repeat.
“I worry about a mind set which thinks of true love – and reaches for a knife. Or a spray can.”
Well said, Elephant’s Child.
SPECTACULAR RON!!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
If we could catch the morons who scratch their names into rocks, over petroglyphs, carves their names into trees, spray their names on buildings, bridges, walls , trains, buses, and any other surface that they come across (marring their beauty for all others), maybe we could carve or tattoo their name AND the word “JERK” on their foreheads…and make everyone happy. It would make me euphoric!!!
Patty, this kind of behavior is ridiculously prevalent. Just recently Bighorn National Forest officials in Idaho found directional arrows carved into more than 100 trees. They’re now looking for the perpetrators.
Shades of The Scarlet Letter… Great idea, especially since carving or tattooing their foreheads would cause them considerable pain. Every time we lead a pictograph tour at Hueco Tanks, we have to talk about graffiti, because there is a lot of it there, and some important pictographs have been destroyed by the process of trying to remove the graffiti (somebody tried sandblasting on one, in the beginning). There is something about western European/United States culture that – in my opinion – sees itself as far more important than any historical stuff put up by others. That apparently makes it okay to destroy what came before. I could go on for a long time about that stuff. I’m sure you could, too.
Jorge…Thank you for speaking so eloquently for me, and I’d guess, many others. I frequently(like almost every day at this point in my life) have the same doubts, especially with recent events in my life. Gracias, Señor…
Patty… De nada, Señora (if I were a spanish) or De nada, minha Senhora (in portuguese).
And I hope you overcome those events.
I’m glad your wife shares in your excitement at seeing these brilliant birds! And I was blown away by yesterday’s post, as well. And yes, us humans have some low moments when it seems really a shame that we were gifted with opposable thumbs. Nevertheless, how wonderful that you (and many of your readers, I suspect) immortalize each precious moment with a camera and not a knife!
“Nevertheless, how wonderful that you (and many of your readers, I suspect) immortalize each precious moment with a camera and not a knife!”
I like the way you put that, Alison. However, Mia and I aren’t married – we’re just very good friends and constant shooting companions.
Beautiful imagery and Narrative Ron !
Thank you, John.
Oh those birds are so beautiful. I hope the starlings and other birds leave them alone now. As for the carving up of a tree…I think we can put some blame on Hollywood for that one. Wasn’t it considered romantic to carve the names of lovers into a tree. How sad. Beautiful find Ron. Your shots are spectacular as always.
This kind of vandalism has gone on for generations, Ellen. Many still think it’s perfectly acceptable behavior for a variety of illogical reasons.
I love how beautiful she is. He’s flashy, but she’s got a quiet beauty all her own.
Hopefully the vandal has matured. I don’t understand why people do that. I really don’t. Makes me sad.
I agree, Arwen – the female is a beauty too.
Gorgeous birds perfectly portrayed. Thanks, Ron. I don’t make it to the site as often as I’d like but when I do it’s always a treat. As for the graffiti, it seems painfully obvious that the jerk with the knife perceives very few avenues for making an impression on his world. In fear that his existence will pass unnoticed, he looks for the only kind of visible impact that he apparently can imagine. It’s a commentary on our culture as well as on ignorant individuals.
There was another such vogue in the late 19th Century, hopefully less common now, for making a pathetic existential statement: carving one’s name in the shell of a living turtle… a shell that is as alive as tree cambium but packed with blood and nerves that surely screamed with every cut. (I don’t presume to say how trees experience these assaults just because I understand their senses less.) Humans are a selfish species, often cursed with a sense of future without the means to satisfy it constructively. How wonderful that you have cultivated the skills to mark ~your~ presence here with glorious and instructive images shared generously with others.
Maya
Sometimes I wonder if we deserve to live on this planet…
Always yin and yang. The beauty of the birds and the ugly work of a savage. I want to believe that he doesn’t know the harm he is causing to the trees but still he is not the owner of Nature.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
I suspect that you’re right, Jorge – it was likely an act of ignorance.
What a lucky find Ron! Beautiful as always. I’ve not ever seen a Williamson’s yet.
These were my first of the species too, Deb.