Early winter Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

The issue of plumage on Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in fall came up on Cobirds, the listserve for Colo Field Ornithologists. A sapsucker was seen today in Weld Co in the far north area of the state that was thought to be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker with a lot of juvenal plumage.

I have had a number of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Canon City every winter for the past several including those still clearly retaining a lot of juvenal plumage in December and retaining juvenal feathers during transition to adult plumage well into the winter months. So I am posting a few of the pics I took of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Dec, 2003 in Canon City to help others identify these birds.

Unfortunately these were the only pics I could find of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers with a lot juvenal plumage and they were taken with my old 2.0 megapixel camera so the quality isn't great. However, double-clicking on each pic enlarges them for close-up viewing.

This reminds me that Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers should be showing up in Canon City soon. SeEtta