Not being familiar with the tree, I don't know if peeling bark is normal or not. If, like paper or river birches, it does get flaking bark as it ages, then it may not be as awful as it appears. If the tree has a good sized caliper to it, then the sapsucker may not do too much damage - if it's still pretty skinny, and if the sapsucker is very persistant, then it may be more serious. I had to take out a smallish - 6-8' tall - maple, which I didn't really like where it was, anyway - after a sapsucker totally girdled it in a band about 6" wide all around the trunk, but it was only a few years old. If I had liked it there, I might have let it take its chances on recovering. If the cambium layer is still intact, the tree may be able to out-grow the damage over the summer, and callus over the holes. Can you see well enough - with binoculars? - to see if the holes are pretty much continuous around the trunk, or are there untouched patches of bark? If there are untouched patches, and you can get reasonably high up into the tree with a ladder, can you hang one of the holographic bird-scarers - plastic filmmy "tails" that flash as they blow in the breeze - or old CDs, in the tree? They MIGHT scare the bird away. Sorry not to be more helpful, or hopeful...

Glad to hear the bird was ok. There is a good bit of information on how to help an injured bird on the Bird Watching forum, it is at the top of the forum.

Thanks for your comments everybody, dominoswrath - We use compact superzooms (Canon SX30, S5-IS, S3-IS, and Fuji S100fs) and shoot in Manual mode, so our settings vary with nearly every shot or series. The background blur is the result of shooting relatively close (8-25ft) at long focal lengths (700 -840mm). Happy birding all, Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Latest Slideshow

Thanks everybody, Rachel is right... We provide our birds with water, food, and a relatively safe habitat. And we spend a lot of time outside with them. Many of our regulars have become somewhat acclimated to our presence amongst them each day, and they do come quite close to us. We love to see and photograph them up close... and we love to share them with others who enjoy them. Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: 2011 Gallery