Have you ever wondered why some trees have a line of holes down or around them? They are likely the handiwork of an enterprising yellow-bellied sapsucker. Despite their name, sapsuckers don’t suck sap. They make holes, called sap wells, and lap up the sap using a special brush-like structure on their tongues. Perhaps yellow-bellied saplapper is a more appropriate name. More than 1,000 species of plants have been documented with sap wells made by these industrious woodpeckers.

Found in Texas only during the winter, yellow-bellied sapsuckers are the only truly migratory woodpecker in the eastern United States. When sapsuckers migrate north to their breeding grounds in spring, they are closely followed by ruby-throated hummingbirds. Because hummingbirds arrive in the north before most nectar plants are blooming, they feed from the sap wells made by woodpeckers. You can see the signs of sapsuckers year-round in the preserve, but fall is the best time to see these birds hard at work.

Houston Hot Wells has a long history in the Cypress area. Those who inhabited the area after the 1960s most likely know it as a shooting range, while residents who arrived earlier in the 1940s and 1950s probably remember it as a top-notch swimming resort. But very few people know the origin and colorful history of this Cypress-area landmark.

Join us on Thursday, Nov. 10, from 9 – 11 a.m. to learn the early history of Houston Hot Wells. Jim Sigmund from the Cypress Historical Society uses old documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings to tell the intriguing story of this Cypress landmark. Discussion groups are best suited for adults and older students with a keen interest in history.