Youngsters

 The second nesting of barn swallows just hatched out this week.

And this young yellow-bellied sapsucker showed up in the apple tree about the same time.

On a walk through the forest you might spot rows of shallow holes in tree bark. This is the beakwork of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, an enterprising woodpecker that laps up the leaking sap and any trapped insects with its specialized, brush-tipped tongue.

Adults are attired sharply in barred black-and-white, with a red cap and (in males) throat, they sit still on tree trunks for long intervals while feeding. To find one, listen for their loud mewing calls or stuttered drumming.

It's good to see the young birds out of the nests and learning how to cope with their world. We wish them well -- it's a dangerous place out there!
Thanks for the photo, Sarah!