Birdland

The Flash of the Northern Flicker

Don’t be surprised if you’re walking through the woods and suddenly a flash of color scares up into a nearby tree. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes, you wouldn’t generally expect to find a woodpecker in the weeds, but Northern Flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. You can also hear the unmistakable drumming of the woodpecker – loud, evenly spaced hammering against trees or metal objects. Flicker drumming lasts about a second, during which the bird strikes the tree around 25 times. This Northern Flicker was photographed at Bluff Lake Nature Center by Park Hill resident Mark Silverstein.