Date: 9/25/26 9:51 am From: lebeck777 via groups.io <lebeck777...> Subject: [pen-bird] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Wunderlich Park
Yes, I understand this is not an expected sighting! But I have seen many sapsuckers before and I am certain of that much.... but I didn't get enough of a look at the back side to say there was no red on the nape. I didn't see any evidence of such, though.
The only camera I had with me was an old iPhone. Although I was actively birding, my primary objective was just to take a hike, and it was in the heat of the afternoon, not prime birding time.
I saw the bird when I was descending on the Bear Gulch trail, getting almost within sighting distance of the stables, above the junction with the Loop trail. I had a clear and sustained profile view of this bird, and it was definitely a sapsucker. Unmistakeable white stripe along the wing edge, bright red on the throat and top of the head. I do feel the belly was pale yellow. The bird was too far away for my iPhone to even have a shot at a photo. I tried to get looks from a different angle, but the bird flew to another tree and was partially hidden. Eventually it flew upslope a bit farther away.
This is a huge forested area, so I don't expect that it will be easy to find this bird again, but I hope someone else does. I might keep looking (I docent at the carriage room museum so I visit Wunderlich regularly).
