Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis)
Place: Central Arizona College, Casa Grande, AZ, USA
Date: February 1999
Equipment: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (= 600/5.6), tripod
Film: Fuji Sensia 100
Exposure: Aperture priority matrix meter, natural light, no fill
Scan: Minolta Dimage, 60% of image

Commentary: The Red-naped Sapsucker is the western counterpart to the eastern Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and until recently was considered a subspecies of the Yellow-bellied.

I was birding this overlooked spot for a reported rarity when this sapsucker surprised me by landing in this small tree next to me. I had only enough time to swing the camera around for one frame before it decided to move on, and I had no time to compose or change to vertical format. I've removed this one from the mount for the scan, but still am missing the tip of the tail. But it is still my best shot of this species by far.