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January 1

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Places to Visit and Explore Nature in Stanley Park Ecosystem Guides: Conifer Forest Stanley Park Visitor Map: with Park Features, Trails, and Destinations Beaver Lake

Red-breasted Sapsucker With the arrival of winter this bird retreats to the shelter to the conifer forest. It is a common resident of Stanley Park's hemlock forest and spectacular evidence for that can be found on most large Western hemlock trees. Patterns of neatly spaced shallow holes drilled row upon row, up, down, and around a hemlock trunk are the work of the red-breasted sapsucker. I'm always amazed at the engineering expertise the sapsucker applies to its search for food. Each small hole is cut with delicate precision using just a few blows from the woodpecker's chiselled beak. Hemlocks with their thin outer bark and steady supply of sap are sapsucker magnets. To find a sapsucker at work just walk into the forest and - listen. If you're within 4-5 metres of a working sapsucker you're almost sure to here the soft tap-tap----tap-tap-tap of its bill striking the bark of a tree. The trick is to listen and let your ears guide your eyes. Even when hear the bird; it can still be a challenge to see it! Scan the tree trunk closely. Most birds I encounter have been working 3-6 metres above the ground.       Field Guide Entry: Red-breasted Sapsucker

Stanley Park Explorer http://www.stanleyparkexplorer.ca Produced by Peter Woods naturalist@stanleyparkexplorer.ca           Revised: May 20, 2011