Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have a distinctive drum, and when they apply their effort to a metal sign it can be startling, especially in the middle of the woods. I was on Hunters Mt. in Naugatuck State Forest this morning, when a metal-enhanced Sapsucker drum rang out so close I jumped. It took a minute but I saw that the Sapsucker had found one of those small black-and-orange signs that say "State Land" and are usually tacked to a tree trunk. This one was only eight feet off the ground and the bird was really working it over. There were also 3 Louisiana Waterthrushes singing along the stream, and Eastern Towhees were well-distributed. They were all giving call notes and one was singing the full "drink-your-teaaa." Greg Hanisek Waterbury