The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

—Henry Myers, Environmental Educator

February marks the beginning of the maple sugaring season.  This is the time of year when people drill small holes into maple trees to collect sap to be boiled into maple syrup.  Here at the Nature Center we have a small sugar shack that we use to educate the public about maple syrup.  Mary is our resident sugar maker, but she is not alone taping trees at the Nature Center.  There is a woodpecker called a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker that also "taps" trees. 

The yellow bellied sapsucker is not too picky when choosing a tree to tap, it has been known to feed on up to 1,000 different species of trees.  Mary will only tap maple trees--no one ever puts oak syrup on pancakes!  The sapsucker also taps trees a little differently than Mary.  While Mary will drill into the xylem (sap wood) of a tree, the yellow bellied sapsucker will only chisel into the phloem (part of the inner bark).  The sugar content of sap from the phloem is ten times higher than the sap of the xylem.  This sugar content is similar to nectar.  The sap wells made by the yellow bellied sapsucker are arranged in rows.  Once the tree heals one of the sap wells, the sapsucker will chisel out a new sap well right next to it.  These sap wells are easy to identify and are a common sight at the Nature Center.

Sap wells drilled by a yellow-bellied sapsucker. Photo: Henry Myers

The sapsuckers impact on the forest is great. It is considered a keystone species because it has a disproportionately large impact on the forest compared to its abundance. The nest cavities that the male sapsucker excavates are used the following year by swallows and chickadees. And, the sap wells that it creates and maintains are a vital food source for many animals including mammals, insects and birds.

Check out a video of a yellow-bellied sapsucker "tapping" a tree.

A yellow-bellied sapsucker spotted at RNC. Photo by: Henry Myers