ML617076156

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

*Early. Initially flushed out from deep within a pine and then relocated nearby in a juniper. Flushed again and only glimpsed briefly in flight. At this point, I was thinking it was a good candidate for a YBSA given its affinity for junipers/pines and the slightly early date (in my experience, early RNSA tend to not be so furtive and are often at the crowns of aspens or other bare deciduous trees). Decided to drive through town looking for it and narrowed in on a nonnative pine (Scotch pine?) on the side of the road that I always associate with overwintering sapsuckers. Sure enough, there it was attending sap wells against the bark, but the red nape, back pattern, etc indicate RNSA. Not conventional breeding habitat for the species, and given the sap wells on the pine, I wonder if it overwintered.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

ISO

640

Focal length

370 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

2929 pixels x 3392 pixels

Original file size

985.79 KB