I'm almost positive it was a Northern Flicker, the misfit woodpecker. Instead of rapping trees like its cousins, it spends 95% of the time foraging for insects on the ground. It's a veritable anteater, devouring more ants than any other type of bird, and complete with a long flicking tongue.
I watched it hop around the side of my house for a solid 10 minutes with my binoculars, waiting for it to fly off so I could see the bright yellow undersides of their wings. I hope my neighbors don't think I'm a creepy perv, trying to peek in their windows.
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ReplyDeleteHow about 5% more certainty that you saw a Northern Flicker? One of my favorite birds. I had a framed plate of one on my wall at my last Amherst apartment. One time, at Tracy circle I saw a whole gang rummaging around the base of the big dogwood trees next door. Check out the Acorn woodpecker, and the White-headed woodpecker. I saw a ton of these guys messing around at Yosemite recently, and a Northern Flicker too.
ReplyDeleteBURD NURDS
Haha, YEAH!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, I have a book on this very subject that I am going to mail you, via Addison. Keep an eye out!