After an unseasonably warm, almost spring-like December in the mountains of central New Mexico, January clearly has something else in mind. Winter! Windy days have resulted in bitter cold as they brought us cloud-cover and a few mini-snowstorms.
The change in weather and absence of wildlife, combined with an abundance of dried vegetation is making it challenging to find nature journaling subjects. So a few days ago, I followed Luna around to see what was capturing her attention. Turns out burrowing rodents expanding their underground tunnels are leaving behind fresh mounds of soil with fascinating odors (to Luna, at least; I couldn’t smell a thing).
When one of her explorations led me under a good sized pinyon tree, I noticed a very interesting piece of bark lying on the ground. Turning the piece over and over, examining all the beautiful patterns in the wood, the colors, old bug holes, and woodpecker drillings, I was surprised and delighted to see a good-sized hole in the shape of a perfect Heart! Eureka!
The 7” piece of pinyon bark …. Can you find the Heart?
Many things crossed my mind in that moment …… but the one word that stuck was “Heartwood!!” Could this small piece of bark redefine the meaning of heartwood? Could this tree have been wearing it’s true emotions on its bark in the form of a heart-shaped window?
After a refresher on basic tree anatomy, and reconfirming that heartwood surrounds the core of the trunk, my imagination went wild. Could that heart-shaped hole in the bark been the opening of a mysterious pathway through the inner workings of the tree?!!! If I could’ve returned the piece of bark to the exact place from where it fell, could the heartbeat of the tree be heard?
My finished pages mostly about Redefining Heartwood, but also featuring the view of South Mountain (to the NE) as seen from our new home (including my studio) and the trail where the “Heartwood” bark was found.
While sketching the piece of bark with its perfectly-shaped heart, I wondered if peering at the inner workings of a tree through this window would make a fun children’s picture book? ….. Where the layers of a trunk and how they work would be experienced first hand by a child walking down the pathway?
After you stop laughing from all this nonsense, let me know what you think?
As always, thanks for stopping by (on my magic carpet ride!)
There are a number of different woodpecker and closely related species (sapsuckers and flickers) that frequent our Piñon-Juniper woodlands in the East Mountains of central New Mexico. These include the downy, hairy, Lewis’s, red-naped, Northern flicker, and Williamson’s sapsucker. They are always such a joy to observe, unless they’re drilling a hole in the side of the house. Their stiff tails allow them to ‘walk’ up and down tree trunks and other vertical surfaces that house insects or exude sticky sap. Their sharp bills are ideal for creating nest holes and sapwells in tree trunks. Their sharp calls, drumming, and stiff-winged flight make them easy to recognize as a member of the woodpecker group of birds.
Until mid-March we’ve never seen a Williamson’s sapsucker. Then one morning Roy was trying to catch a glimpse of a strange woodpecker on one of our old growth piñon pines. Immediately recognizing the markings of this bird were unlike any we’ve seen before, he excitedly fetched me from my studio to have a look.
Sure enough! Realizing this was likely a life list sighting for us both, the markings looked just like those illustrated in our numerous field guides. Indubitably, dear Watson! This was a Williamson’s Sapsucker (Sphyrapicusthyroideus) and he was treating us to a visit. We watched him (definitely a male, as females look completely different than the males, which is unusual for woodpecker species) working his way up and down the tree trunk. As he walked and hopped up and down the tree, he would circle the trunk and pause to lick up actively flowing tree sap from rows and rows of sapwells! Why had we never noticed so many sapwells on this tree before? Did this or other Williamson’s sapsuckers drill these shallow sapwells? Maybe another woodpecker species created them and the Williamson’s was stealing the nutritious sap? Are these new sapwells or have woodpeckers been drilling this tree for many years? Countless questions, but this handsome fellow wasn’t giving up his secrets. So we enjoyed his antics for about 30 minutes until he flew off, maybe to another piñon to lap its sap?
The next day, as we were about to pull into the garage, we spotted the Williamson’s again …… again working the sapwells up and down the piñon tree. We sat in the car and watched him while mulling over new questions, like “isn’t this the same time he was here yesterday?” “Why yes!” We closely observed his feeding pattern, beginning at about 5 feet above the ground, walking and hopping up the tree while circling the trunk, and when he reached the needled branches about 25 feet high, he would make a diving flight back down to the 5 foot height and again work his way up. This went on repeatedly for about 5 times before he flew away. Hmmmm! Why did he stop when he did? Had he licked up all the available sap for the day, and had to wait until the sap began flowing again? (I showed up later to see if he returned ….. he didn’t. Maybe my timing was off? Maybe the sap flow still wasn’t worth his trip?).Day 3, and same time/same place. This hungry bird was back lapping sap! Same up and down behaviors; same departure time.
Day 3, and same time/same place. This hungry bird was back lapping sap! Same up and down behaviors; same departure time.
Day 4, ditto
Day 5, ditto
Day 6 ……. We arrived at the same mid-morning time, and waited. And waited. And waited. The Williamson’s sapsucker was a no show. And we haven’t seen him since.
Was he only migrating through, just long enough to stock up on high energy meals? Apparently this species is widespread and fairly common throughout the Rocky Mountain West, but their breeding range begins just north of us and extends into Canada. However, we are well within the Williamson’s sapsucker’s winter range. Hope he returns again next year!
Meanwhile we’ll be watching that old growth piñon to see if the sapwells draw in other hungry birds!
Now, a few fun facts about the Williamson’s sapsucker and sapsuckers in general.
While the male Williamson’s sapsucker is silky black with a cherry-red throat, a brilliant lemon-yellow belly and bright white wing patches, the female looks totally different. This is very unusual for birds in the woodpecker group. The female has a mousy brown head, banded back and small patches of black and yellow on the belly.
The difference is so striking between the male and female, they were originally thought to be different species entirely. It wasn’t until 1873 that ornithologists realized they were the same species. Naturalist Henry Henshaw located a pair at their nest in Colorado and published his observations, thus putting an end to the confusion.
Sapsuckers get their name from their habit of drilling rows of shallow holes in tree bark. The birds come back to these holes to lick the sap that flows from these holes and to eat insects that have become caught in the sticky residue.
Early ornithologists in the West reported seeing Williamson’s Sapsuckers at sapwells in aspen trees; however, in the past 100 years, observers have seen their sapwells only in conifers, never in deciduous trees. The early reports might have been of Williamson’s stealing sap from wells made by Red-naped Sapsuckers.
Here’s a few progress shots I remembered to capture while creating the Williamson’s clinging to the tree
Earliest coloring stages …. Laying down base colors to build up to the Williamson’s silky black back
Adding more base colors, sapwell and tree bark furrowing details
Close to final image. The black was achieved by using purples, browns, blues and greens to achieve the iridescence of his black coloring.
a curious nature 