The Northern Flicker

Yellow-shafted NF, Tom Johnson, AZ

The Northern Flicker, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful birds in the east and a unique woodpecker! They are also very charismatic, flying from tree to tree yelling out KEYAH (among other cool vocalizations)! It will also throw me for a loop when I see these guys driving their woodpecker beaks into the ground as I look out into the yard thinking, who is that big bird? The last couple of places we have lived it's been lucky that we've had this wonderful bird in our neighborhood. We played a flicker call one day in the back yard at our last house and it must have been a male recording because there was a spectacular male within seconds on the nearest tree limb. He did some fancy dances, displayed every color and marking he possibly could, delighting us the whole show! Soon though he decided that the competitor (a thin, rectangular object) was nothing to be threatened by and flew off. Here in Cherokee Ntl Forest at our new house we have a flicker friend, he silently visits on the small hill beside the house where I will notice him pecking the ground for goodies or sitting on the wooden fence posts piercing the soft wood for insects. I call him our friend because he frequents this spot and almost seems to hang out with me sometimes, giving me the chance to grab my Nikons and check out his beautiful colors and markings. This is definitely a bird to check out, listen to some vocalizations and keep an ear out for them in your neck of the woods! And if you're in the west, you'll have the red-shafted variation, also so beautiful, we saw one in Colorado and he was awesome.

Red-shafted NF, JoanGeeAZ, AZ