When I began this blog, I knew my posts would cover a lot of topics. But even I didn't think I'd be writing about the northern flicker who's moved into the neighborhood. I don't know that he's actually taken up residence, but he's proven to be a consistent visitor, showing up every afternoon to pound out a hole on the telephone pole across the street.
The rat-a-tat-tat of his beak knocking against the wood has become a familiar sound. And while he's big enough to spot with the naked eye (12 to 14 inches tall), viewing him through binoculars is a treat. With their dominant brown color, black spotted chest and a red chevron on the back of their head, they're easily identifiable.
Flickers aren't terribly shy either, which is why they're known as urban woodpeckers and can be found in backyards as well as forested or wooded areas. Take a minute to listen to their call and see a video. (Click on the second one on the right, the "red-shafted" form foraging for dandelions.)
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
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.
I can vouch for that. Once, on a casual bike ride in my neighborhood, I spotted a flicker doing exactly that, concentrating on the cracks in the sidewalk, barely a block from 33rd Avenue, a major residential arterial in Northeast Portland. I braked, slowly got off and quietly approached to within 10 feet, watching him for what seemed like 3 to 5 minutes.
Call me a nerd or an unlikely bird-watcher, but I think they're beautiful creatures, whether on the ground, casting a watchful eye at you or in flight, flashing their white tail feathers.
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