Yellow-bellied Sapsucker At The Carden Alvar
Our decision to visit the Carden Alvar in Ontario, Canada this year did not disappoint when we sighted this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on a fence post along Wylie Road.
Wylie Road is located in Kawartha Lakes County, and it runs North to South through the heart of the Carden Alvar. It is one of the birding hotspots in Ontario and is recognized worldwide as a destination for birdwatching. Every year, hundreds of bird species are observed in the area and reported to eBird.
This very confiding Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was not put off by our attention, but we still stayed back and allowed our zoom lens to do its work. By all reports from other birders, this Sapsucker had been working these particular fence posts for a whole week.
In this photo, you can see the nictitating membrane on the Sapsucker’s eye!
Every once in a while, the Sapsucker would take flight and move up the fence line to a new post.
Carden Alvar is home to many species of birds.
At different points along the road, there are nest boxes provided for Eastern Bluebirds. They are occupied in the spring and early summertime.
Here, we see an Eastern Bluebird carrying food to its young that still reside in the box.
As we paid close attention to the Sapsucker behind us, the ever-present Eastern Bluebirds were out and about hunting down prey.
On our visit, we did not see too many species, but this Yellow Warbler delighted us when it broke into song.
This Eastern Kingbird lived up to its name and came over to see what we were doing in its kingdom.
As we walked along the road, a Wilson’s Snipe reacted to our movement and took to the air from its hiding spot in the adjacent field.
However, it was the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that stole the show that day. For more information about the Carden Alvar and when best to plan a visit, checkout this link to Nature Conservancy Canada.