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.  
• 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! 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 and 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/

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A Family of Bluebirds Brings An Abundance of Happiness

 I'm sure you've all heard the phrase, Bluebird of Happiness.  Anyone who is fortunate enough to share the company of bluebirds has experienced the joy these colorful creatures bring.  In all the years I've been attracting and feeding backyard birds, of all many varieties that I've enjoyed, Eastern Bluebirds have been elusive, that is until seven years ago.  I can tell you when I got to see my very first bluebird during the winter of 2018, my heart skipped a beat!  Since that winter, I've been blessed with bluebirds almost year 'round.

I can credit that good fortune due to my wise mother who urged me to put mealworms in our feeders.  My mom knows her stuff and I've yet to meet a bluebird who can resist a steady supply of mealworms.  They're not the only birds who enjoy them either.  At first my bluebirds were mostly winter visitors staying around for easy nourishment, but after a couple seasons except for breeding season, the bluebirds were pretty routine visitors.  Eventually we added some bluebird houses around the yard and in 2023 we had our first brood!  And yes....2023.  I've been waiting all this time to share this experience, one that has repeated and will hopefully repeat this season.

Here's some bluebird facts for you:

• Males attract the female by displaying near the nest cavity.  He goes in and out of the cavity carrying nesting material.  Once he's impressed her enough, she takes over and builds the nest alone.  Pairs usually mate for life.
• Nests are often hidden in shrubs, vines or low trees, 3-10' off the ground and are made of twigs,  bark, leaves and lined with grass or hair.
• She also incubates the eggs alone.
• Broods are usually 3-4 eggs, sometimes 2-5.
• Incubation takes 13-16 days.  Once eggs hatch, both parents feed the young.
• Young usually fledge between 13-19 days.
• Bluebirds typically have around 2 broods a season, sometimes using the same nest a second time.  Fresh material is sometimes added on top of the original nest.  If they don't re-use the nest, males will stay with the young while mom goes to prepare a new nest.
• Average lifespan is about 3 years due to predators.
• Bluebirds eat insects, seeds, fruit and berries.  Though regular bird seed won't attract bluebirds to feeders, once they're eating mealworms, they sometimes eat other types of bird seed.
• Bluebirds prefer open country with woodland edges,  farmland and roadsides in a semi-open habitat. They also enjoy suburbs with extensive lawns, gardens and good nesting sites.
• Although the population of bluebirds was once on the decline, bluebirds are now widespread and abundant, possibly due to the abundance of bluebird houses being provided.  
• Unlike other songbirds, both the male and female sing.

I got lucky the day my first brood fledged.  I'd been keeping an eye out, since the house is not easily viewed from the main living areas of our house.  On this particular day I noticed mom and dad were spending a lot of time outside of the house on a nearby trellis seeming to be trying to coax the youngsters out.  Just like their human counterparts, it took a little encouragement and confidence but finally one after the other, the babies took flight from the safety of their nest out into the vast new world.  

I'd read about fledglings and learned that mom and dad would watch where the fledglings land after their first flight and then join them and stay with them for however long it takes for the next flight to occur.  That seemed to be the case because after that first fledge, I didn't see parents or youngsters for a few days.  Eventually they came back and seemed to be still getting their strength.  For a while they rested on the electrical wires and later on the cartop carriers on the car below the wires.  It wasn't long before mom and dad coaxed the new fledglings to the feeder where at first dinner was served and eventually babes were eating on their own.  

According to Reference.com: The bluebird traditionally stands for happiness. The phrase “bluebird of happiness” was originally coined by playwright Maurice Maeterlinck in his 1908 play “The Blue Bird” and has since entered the popular lexicon. In the United States, September 24 is National Bluebird of Happiness Day.   And from Enviroliteracy.com: The saying about the bluebird of happiness is more than just a catchy phrase; it’s a potent symbol deeply rooted in cultural folklore, literary tradition, and personal aspiration. While the exact phrasing may vary slightly, the core message remains consistent: “Somewhere there’s a bluebird of happiness,” often accompanied by the sentiment that this bluebird represents a source of joy, hope, and fulfillment. This idea suggests that even in the midst of hardship or despair, happiness is attainable and exists somewhere, often just beyond our immediate reach. The bluebird, in this context, acts as a tangible representation of that elusive joy, encouraging us to seek it out and maintain optimism. This isn’t merely a saying; it’s an embodiment of the hope that brighter days are possible. The bluebird’s symbolism has been amplified through its appearance in various forms of art, literature, and popular culture, solidifying its place as an enduring emblem of joy and aspiration.

Funny story - a couple weeks ago, John cleaned out all of our bird houses to ready them for this year's new broods.  In one of the bluebird houses, this is what he found:

Thanks John for the photos!   In another, smaller house, as he was using a dandelion weeder to pry the nest out, out came a mouse!  He plopped into the bucket below, then quickly scampered out of the bucket and a few feet away retreated to a hole at the base of a weigelia bush.  Surprised but focused on his mission, John continued to empty the contents only to be once again startled by a second mouse who repeated his mate's escape into the bucket, then down the hole.  Hopefully the now empty nest won't be so appealing and will be available for this year's chickadee tenants.  

I didn't need all that to let me know how much happiness these colorful visitors bring into my world every season and I hope this post brings a little into yours. 

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