Curious Flicker

Good afternoon everyone!  I know it's been a while since I've posted anything here.  I have missed both writing my posts and reading yours.  Another project has kept me pretty tied up lately.  I haven't been taking many photos lately, so nothing new to post here.  However, I'm behind on posting my summer snapshots.  Like these- taken a few months back, shortly after the rat snake invaded the Red-bellied Woodpeckers nest in this tree.  A Northern Flicker decided to investigate the nest site and spent several hours going back and forth to it.  Was he considering raising a family in this spot?  I prayed not, for fear of a repeat snake attack.  (These shots taken at a distance with my old 300 mm zoom lens, so the results aren't tack-sharp)

He checked the spot out thoroughly, scoping the scene in all directions.  Eventually he crawled inside the hole and sat there for several minutes.  Fortunately, he decided the spot wasn't suitable enough and left.  I haven't seen him at this tree since.  

I love the feather patterns and colors of Northern Flickers- so pretty.  They're even more beautiful in flight when the bright yellow (or red, depending on species) underside of their wings are visible. 

Hope your Thursday is going well.  Thank you for peeping in!

Northern Flicker

It was a nice surprise to see this infrequent visitor in our back yard...

He "poked" around for a little while, then moved on to another tree, out of sight.  

Male Northern Flicker

12/24/14

Linked with Stewart on Wild Bird Wednesday

Backyard Birdies

Remember when I was whining a couple of months ago about

the lack of birds in our back yard?  

Fortunately, things have changed lately...

American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

Northern Mockingbird

Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrows

Pileated Woodpecker (sooner or later, I'll get a better shot of this one)

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Another Red-bellied Woodpecker...see him peeping from the hole?

Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers (there are 3 in this photo)

Female Northern Flicker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker again

Because my back yard is so shady, I need to practice shooting 

in lower lighting conditions.  It would also be great to have

the 400 mm lens I've been dreaming of for those close ups ;)

Linked with Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday

Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker

Before one lucky sighting this past June, I had only seen images of the beautiful Northern Flicker via the web.   I believe this is one of the most attractive birds among the Woodpecker species.  I didn't think I'd ever be fortunate enough to actually see one...

However, good fortune brought me the opportunity to watch this male Northern Flicker as he foraged around in our front yard for insects.  He didn't hang around for long, only a couple of minutes, but that was all I needed to get a few quick shots of him.  The images below are heavily cropped because he was quite a distance from me and I didn't approach him for fear of scaring him off.  When he did decide to take off, I got a glimpse of his underside feathers, a beautiful bright yellow- absolutely stunning in flight!

Adult male yellow-shafted Northern Flickers can be easily identified by their black malar (or moustache) which is absent in the female.  Flickers appear brownish overall with a white rump patch that’s conspicuous in flight and often visible when perched. The undersides of the wing and tail feathers are bright yellow, for eastern birds, or red, in western birds. With a closer look you’ll see the brown plumage is richly patterned with black spots, bars, and crescents.

Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants. They also eat fruits and seeds, especially in winter.

Click here to view a stunning image of a yellow-shafted Northern Flicker in flight.

Linked with Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday,

Thank You for hosting this great meme, Stewart!