I say “rare” because over four days this was one of the very few times I photographed either adult sapsucker when it wasn’t plastered against the nest cavity entrance.
High perches are unusual in the flat bottomland expanses of Montana’s huge Centennial Valley so the few that exist can be a draw for raptors and other birds.
It’s been a long time coming this year but today I’m finally getting out of some of this oppressive heat and headed for the faraway mountains of Montana and Idaho.