Northern Flicker

Northern Flickers love suet. They come and hang out (literally) on our fancy suet feeder. I think this is the parent of the youngster that I photographed in July.

As I mentioned before Flickers come in two under colors, red and yellow. The ones who live in our neighborhood are the red kind. I made this composite so you could see the under feathers of his wings and tail. They are really beautiful birds and quite large. The jays even are wary around them. And they have a very distinct call so I always know when they are nearby.

In the spring, the males find something to hammer on with their beaks to show the females what strong fellows they are. Since they are related to woodpeckers, their ability to make holes in trees to gather food is worth knowing about. One of their favorite places to show off is on the metal cap of our chimney. The sound reverberates throughout the house. We don't mind at all. Luckily they do this during the daytime.

Take a closer look at the smaller photos in the large version.