miyoNorthern Flicker (male)
Northern Flicker (female)
jendefer@miyotehew Really nice photos. We don't often see Northern Flickers in our neighborhood, but last week we saw two, and they suddenly made our Gila Woodpeckers seem small.
@miyotehew Ah! I am way down in Arizona. They only show up in my area in the winter. Looks like they are year-round for you.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/maps-range
Northern Flicker Range Map, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Northern Flickers are large, brown woodpeckers with a gentle expression and handsome black-scalloped plumage. On walks, don’t be surprised if you scare one up from the ground. It’s not where you’d expect to find a woodpecker, but flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. When they fly you’ll see a flash of color in the wings – yellow if you’re in the East, red if you’re in the West – and a bright white flash on the rump.
Ive seen these 'red shafted' ones in Vancouver always, no yellow. It's interesting the variation in color on the tail and cheeks down the west coast. These birds have pizzzaaz!
BrownsBay@miyotehew @jendefer Yep, red-shafted are a west coast bird. I've seen intergrades here at my suet feeder showing a red crescent on the nape, which all yellow-shafted have.
@miyotehew Red-shafted
Idzie@miyotehew such beautiful, goofy birds. What a good shot!
@idzie Thanks! yeah they are goofy. Cautious little ones, looking up constantly after digging around.
@miyotehew cautious for sure, I've accidentally flushed so many flickers when they saw me before I saw them 😭
But when that doesn't happen, and I can give them their space, I love watching them. Can't wait until they return in the spring!
Emile Snyder@idzie @miyotehew I too love flickers, especially the distinctive flap and pause and flashes of color when they're flying away. I just wish they didn't spent 4 months out of the year hammering on the vent covers trying to get into our attic 😭
