A Backyard Visit from The Northern Flicker

 I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth.  Then I ask myself the same question.  - Harun Yahya

I love birds. I love feeding them in our yard year round and my husband would probably say that doing so is a labor intensive and fairly costly hobby. But....he loves it too. Most of the birds that frequent our feeders are the usual, common backyard birds but every now and then we hit the lottery and one of our favorite, but less common visitors, chooses to hang around. Recently that lottery involved the majestic Flicker. His presence was rather brief, lasting only a week or two, but I savored every moment and captured plenty of photos. I thought I'd share them in a blog along with some interesting facts I learned.

• About the size of a robin, Flickers can be found throughout North America and even in some of the Caribbean Islands.  You can find them throughout North America and some of the Caribbean Islands.
• Males and females look similar with only a few differences. The only obvious difference is the male has a ‘mustache’ or whisker on either side of its beak. In the east this is black, while in the west it is red. Females do not have this facial marking.
• They eat more ants than any bird in North America. Some people call Northern Flickers the “anteaters of the sky.” Their slightly curved bill helps them hunt for ants on the ground and on the sides of trees.   
• Once a mated pair finds a suitable tree, they get to work pecking away at the soft wood. The pair doesn’t build a nest inside the cavity with twigs or grass like many songbirds. Only woodchips from their construction process line the bottom of the hole. Northern Flickers don’t build the typical ‘nest.’ The mated pair excavates out the inside of a rotting tree, building a hole with a single entrance. The tunnel goes down between 6 -18 inches and opens into a chamber where the female will lay her eggs. 
• Parents work together to incubate the nest and raise chicks.  Northern Flickers are dedicated parents. Both the male and female excavate the nest cavity, incubate the eggs, and bring back food for the chicks. They even have a schedule!  11. Scientists discovered that female flickers incubate the eggs during the day, while males defend the nest. At night, the roles reverse.
• They are one of the only woodpeckers in North America that isn’t black and white.  Northern Flickers are considered the ‘black sheep’ of the woodpecker family because they have brown feathers and forage for food on the ground. Their plumage helps them blend into foliage and the dusky brown colors of the forest floor. Most other woodpeckers in North America have black white stripped plumage, helping them to blend in with tree bark.  
• Northern Flickers’ tongue wraps around its skull like a football helmet.
• It’s easy to see where they’ve been!  Northern Flickers leave evidence of their search for food wherever they go. The dime-sized holes they leave behind in trees, branches, and even wooden siding are in straight lines and hard to miss.
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Are they not just gorgeous! Thank you to Bird Feeder Hub for all the information included in this post.  Photos are mine, but the great facts included are courtesy of them!

   https://birdfeederhub.com/facts-about-northern-flickers/