Sapsucker return, Mame's

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is one of the silliest avian common names on the planet, and, in truth, it is actually something of a misnomer, since there's often very little yellow on the woodpecker's belly. But the butt of jokes or not, Sphyrapicus varius is, without a doubt, as much a harbinger of spring as the Bluebird, the Wood Frog, and the Crocus. With the advent of ridiculously early spring weather... yet again... my granddaughter and I went on a sapsucker prowl in the old apple trees across the street. The venerable apple bark is riddled with S. varius holes that are shallow and drilled in rows, and with the sap now rising, at least a pair of sapsuckers had just returned from the South to tap the moisture source. We spotted this one, with its striking head and wing markings, on an apple, but then it flew for a photo op on a nearby maple. Let the drilling begin..