Another Favorite

I went for another walk in the park where I've been searching for owls.  I was unsuccessful once again, and don't know if I'll ever spot one there on my own.  I said in an earlier post that I've never found an owl in the wild (meaning not my backyard, where I have eyed them perched on the feeder), but that's not quite true.  There was a Great Horned owl in a nest with an owlet last spring, in this park actually, but I certainly wasn't the one to identify it.

I'm not complaining though.  Today I was fortunate to find this male yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, foraging on the ground, as flickers do.  They are such handsome birds, with spectacular markings.  I have to say, I also count flickers as favorites.