I've been quite lucky to have spent the last several summers in Prescott where I've met many high elevation birds like scrub jays and titmice. With the arrival of freezing temperatures and the departure of summer-breeding birds, I start to lose interest in regular visits north. But during my infrequent winter stays I still pay attention to the tweets and pecks coming from the wooded landscape and am occasionally rewarded with a fun find like on this past weekend when I discovered a red-naped sapsucker.
Four woodpeckers go by the name sapsucker, all in the genus Sphyrapicus. I think only two are common in Arizona, the William's and the already mentioned red-naped. While I've never encountered either in the state's deserts I have observed the red-naped in my Prescott neighborhood during autumn on at least two occasions.
I speculate that this weekend's individual might be a winter visitor to the area, breeding in a higher elevation than my neighborhood's. Or maybe he's a late migrating bird, choosing a later departure date for the Southwestern and Mexican deserts where he's more regularly known to spend winters. Since I too am a snowbird, preferring warmer, sunny climates around Phoenix this time of year, I am now on the lookout for any new seasonal residents like the sapsuckers.
Four woodpeckers go by the name sapsucker, all in the genus Sphyrapicus. I think only two are common in Arizona, the William's and the already mentioned red-naped. While I've never encountered either in the state's deserts I have observed the red-naped in my Prescott neighborhood during autumn on at least two occasions.
I speculate that this weekend's individual might be a winter visitor to the area, breeding in a higher elevation than my neighborhood's. Or maybe he's a late migrating bird, choosing a later departure date for the Southwestern and Mexican deserts where he's more regularly known to spend winters. Since I too am a snowbird, preferring warmer, sunny climates around Phoenix this time of year, I am now on the lookout for any new seasonal residents like the sapsuckers.
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| Red-naped sapsucker, male, in Prescott last weekend. |
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| Red-naped sapsucker, male, in Prescott last fall. |
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| Red-naped sapsucker, male, near Flagstaff early last fall. |
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| Red-naped sapsucker, female, Madera Canyon March 2016. |
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