{"id":84146,"date":"2021-04-11T05:56:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T11:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=84146"},"modified":"2024-11-06T07:04:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:04:56","slug":"red-naped-sapsucker-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/11\/red-naped-sapsucker-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-naped Sapsucker Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning I wanted to share a few Red-naped Sapsucker photos I have taken while in gorgeous alpine forests of Idaho and Utah.\u00a0 Over the years I have found several nesting cavities in both states which has made photographing these sapsuckers easier.<\/p>\n

\"Red-napedRed-naped Sapsucker with prey in the shadows \u2013 Nikon D7100, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I always<\/em> remain at a respectful distance from the nests in a mobile blind so that the birds can go about about the business of raising their chicks.<\/p>\n

In this first photo taken near Modoc Creek in the Targhee National Forest<\/span><\/a> of Idaho the female was coming in to bring food to her chicks. The lighting wasn’t the best because she was in the shadows but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to delete this file. The image appeals to me because this is a view that many people get of this species while looking for them in the field.<\/p>\n

\"Red-napedRed-naped Sapsucker male clinging to an aspen \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have found that during the nesting season Red-naped Sapsuckers can be quite noisy and they often announce their arrival to the nest with a call<\/span><\/a> and they can also be heard drumming<\/span><\/a>. One of my ways of locating nesting cavities of Red-naped Sapsuckers is to listen for them.<\/p>\n

I also look for flashes of black, white and red among the trees of the forests I am in. This adult male Red-naped Sapsucker caught my eye as he made his way towards the nesting cavity he was using in the Uinta Mountains<\/span><\/a> of Utah.<\/p>\n

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and my personal safety concerns I didn’t get to visit the Uinta Mountains last year. I plan on going there as soon as I can this year to look for nesting Red-naped Sapsuckers to photograph.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Red-naped Sapsucker with prey on the nest tree \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR , natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

At another nesting cavity in the Targhee National Forest of Idaho that I found and I was able to spend several days in 2017 photographing the adult sapsuckers bringing food to their chicks. The lighting situation was more than challenging because I could only get light on the nesting tree in late afternoon and evening.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Red-naped Sapsucker leaving the nesting cavity \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 800, -1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The adult sapsuckers at this nesting cavity flew in and out frequently. That frequency increased as dusk approached.<\/p>\n

\"Red-napedRed-naped Sapsucker chick begging from the nest \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO500, -1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I could hear the chicks begging<\/span><\/a> to be fed from inside the nesting cavity. Their begging calls were almost nonstop. Some people might find those begging calls irritating, I didn’t. I wish I had been at this nest when the chicks fledged though. That would have been great fun.<\/p>\n

Last year I spotted a few Red-naped Sapsuckers high in the Wasatch Mountains. I wasn’t able to take high quality images of them because I never had a clear view of the entire birds. I hope that this nesting season I will get more photos of Red-naped Sapsuckers to share here.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Red-naped Sapsucker photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning I wanted to share a few Red-naped Sapsucker photos I have taken while in gorgeous alpine forests of Idaho and Utah.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2578,2244,3717,2141,1731,2261,3886,26],"tags":[4004,1919,740,2304,4134,11388,4070,4141,5370,4067,9080,4062,4075,3976,2580,4450,2579,2144,5847,3094,2145,4777,2146,4193],"class_list":["post-84146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-clark-county","category-idaho","category-modoc-creek","category-red-naped-sapsuckers","category-summit-county-utah","category-targhee-national-forest","category-uinta-national-forest","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aspen","tag-begging","tag-calls","tag-chick","tag-drumming","tag-female","tag-fledgling","tag-forest","tag-immature","tag-leaving","tag-male","tag-nest","tag-nesting","tag-nesting-cavity","tag-nesting-season","tag-nesting-tree","tag-red-naped-sapsucker","tag-sapsucker","tag-sapsuckers","tag-sphyrapicus-nuchalis","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-naped-sapsucker-at-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-3759.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-lTc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15330,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/06\/red-naped-sapsuckers-of-clark-county-idaho\/","url_meta":{"origin":84146,"position":0},"title":"Red-naped Sapsuckers of Clark County, Idaho","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a Sapsuckery trip to Montana and Idaho last week, with Red-naped and Williamson's Sapsuckers at their nesting cavities","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-naped Sapsucker male, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-naped-sapsucker-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-7265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-naped-sapsucker-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-7265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Cavity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I did find one jewel in the images, a photo of one of the adult Red-naped Sapsuckers flying away from the nesting cavity looking like a bullet.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-naped Sapsucker flying away from its nesting cavity, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-naped-sapsucker-airborne-mia-mcpherson-2238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-naped-sapsucker-airborne-mia-mcpherson-2238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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