Description

We were very surprised to see this sapsucker. We identified it as a juvenile based on the white coverts. It had signs of developing a yellow belly and a black patch on its breast. We had the Bay Area’s rare bird expert, Logan Kahle, verify that the bird was in fact a Yellow-bellied sapsucker. Logan is heading off in the fall to study ornithology at Cornell. Here’s an article about Logan: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Birders-scramble-to-top-record-of-spotting-most-6002632.php We have many more photos of the bird including one with the sapsucker and a Nuttall’s woodpecker in the same photo.
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Species

• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker