Day 86: While walking through the snowy, dim stillness which is Longmire's wintertime Trail of the Shadows, a small movement drew my eye to the base of a tree and caused me to stop my walk until I could identify its source. It was no easy task, the light dimmed by overhanging cedar boughs, but when a few seconds later, a bit of brown-flecked "bark" moved again, it revealed itself to be a Northern Flicker, foraging in a cavity. Intent on its business, the bird plunged its head time and again into the hole, emerging after several probing thrusts with its beak to look 'round for potential predators. It must have felt I wasn't dangerous, because it allowed me to move closer until I had a clear view through the lens, although it continued to perform its safety checks between bouts of searching in the hollow until I moved on.
The bird we call "Northern Flicker" is a member of the woodpecker family. Colaptes auratus is further broken down into "Red-Shafted" and "Yellow-Shafted" members (western and eastern variants respectively). Our Red-Shafted Flicker males can be told from the females of the species by the bright red malar ("cheek") marking. In flight, these birds reveal reddish underwings and the distinctive "beat" which gives them the name "Flicker."
No comments:
Post a Comment