These special woodpeckers tap little holes in a circle around the trunk or higher limb, and come back over and over again to lap up the sap with their brushy tongues. Many other birds love sap, but without those woodpecker beaks they can't get it themselves. So sapsucker holes are important for many species, including warblers, kinglets, and phoebes. The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to return north in the spring often depend on sapsucker holes for their food before many flowers are blooming. Sapsuckers probably love maple sap as much as we do, but we usually see them on aspen trees rather than maples.
Sap runs best in healthy trees with healthy, strong bark and wood.
Maple trees are hardwoods, and it's hard work for even a powerful woodpecker to dig through their tough bark and wood. Even very healthy aspens have much softer wood, so sapsuckers have an easier time tapping them. Hummingbird Metabolism Ruby-throated hummingbirds may be the tiniest birds on the planet, but they are the biggest eaters. These tiny birds have devised a fascinating way to conserve energy when they can't be eating. We are excited at waiting and watching for the hummingbirds to appear.