During a cold snap (21 degrees this morning in Maple Leaf) this bird is sometimes seen here instead of in the hills.
“A few birds reliably move into residential areas during the winter months” or after a snowstorm, Birds of Seattle and Puget Sound says about the Red-breasted Sapsucker.
This bird is on a Deodar Cedar at Maple Leaf Life South.
“With its scarlet hood, the Red-breasted Sapsucker is the most brightly colored of the North American sapsuckers,” the book, by Chris C. Fisher, states.
“The Red-breasted Sapsucker is one of the easiest woodpeckers to identify by sound. It often meows like a cat, and its territorial drumming sound like random Morse code.”
In Birds of Washington, author Stan Tekiela notes it is “most common in higher elevations, it is rare in residential areas or city parks.”
I’m a trained Audubon volunteer. Although the Red Breasted Sapsucker is not common in winter in residential areas, it is easily seen nesting in spring. Check out Juanita Bay Park to see them and their young very near homes and park walkways.
I had this kind of bird hanging around my elderberry bushes late summer and early fall. Could they have moved into Maple Leaf permanently?