Red-breasted Sapsucker Feeding A Chick...

Well, our persistence has finally paid off. We have watched a mated pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers mate, drill out a nesting cavity, which they abandoned before it was finished.

 

Then, they drilled out another cavity, deep enough so that they could enter the cavity, and then exit...and then they abandoned this cavity too.

 

Finally, in the same tree (all three cavities are in the same tree), they carved out a third nesting cavity (the one in this pic) and then they disappeared from our view for a few weeks.

 

Then, a few days ago, we noticed that they were now feeding very mature chicks at the mouth of this nesting cavity (cavity #3).

 

Congrats to this happy couple and to their chicks. We've seen a couple of chick beaks protruding from the mouth of this cavity, waiting for mom and dad to bring some tasty buggies to fill their hungry tummies.

 

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but the nesting cavity is on the shady side of a Fir tree snag and it seldom gets a direct ray of sunshine. Dark forest leads to dark pics that, when lightened up (in camera and/or in post-production) leads to the fuzzy pic that we are sharing today.

 

Done