Rambunctious Red-breasted Sapsucker Juveniles

Three Red-breasted Sapsucker juveniles were tearing through the forest at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge this week, chasing each other while a parent sapsucker tried to keep up with them. According to Cornell, All About Birds, juvenile Red-breasted Sapsuckers are mostly brown with no red. But these three are clearly red on head and breast and are clearly juveniles, both in appearance and behavior. They were having the time of their lives!

These three sapsuckers had most likely fledged from a cavity in a snag that was visible from the Nisqually boardwalk. Their little heads had occasionally been seen peeking out of the hole while they waited for parents to deliver food, so it wasn’t a complete surprise to see them fly through the forest after they had fledged, but I felt fortunate to witness it!