The Northern Flicker – aka my first success in birding
After last weekend’s disastrous effort in birding, I decided to get back to my good old macro shots when I went for a stroll by several ponds near my office. The day’s efforts were OK – as I found several flies mating that I will need to later identify. After getting some decent shots, I packed up my camera and started to head back.
Not far from being back in my office I suddenly heard several loud knocks as a I passed a tree. I’m not a birder, but neither am I an idiot. I immediately knew what that could be. After several moments, I located the culprit.
I must admit that I had to look up what type of woodpecker this is, and it is a Northern Flicker. It is actually quite common everywhere in the US and I’m sure for many birders this is a rather ordinary bird – but for me at least this is the best look I have had of a woodpecker.
According to the materials I have, these particular woodpeckers actually prefer the ground and only drill in trees around this time of year to nest. Given the size of the hole it was working on, I suspect it is building a nest. As this is quite close to my office, I will be easily able to check on it from time to time.
For me, this is a huge achievement – managing to get this close to a bird that is not a duck. I’m sure some day I will look back at these shots and laugh at how awful they are, but today I am quite proud of them.
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Tags: bird, northern flicker, photography, woodpecker