A red-bellied woodpecker (actually a Northern Flicker!)

Thanks to Randy, I know the woodpecker we watched yesterday morning (and thought was a female Red-Bellied Woodpecker), was actually a Northern Flicker.  I don't think we'd seen one before.

It caught our attention, foraging in the old stump below the porch, rhythmically working the decaying wood, snagging insects and their larvae in the process.

(In looking up info about the Northern Flicker, they forage largely on the ground, for ants -- cool!)

It had seemed unusual to see a woodpecker foraging on a stump, but maybe I haven't had one to observe before. We're still waiting for woodpeckers to discover the new suet feeder, an elaborate cedar log with holes to stuff with suet. The titmice have found it, though, and they're happy for the extra energy, apparently.

Comments

  1. Lisa,

    Cute photo of a Northern Flicker! These are hard to get close to they are kind of jumpy.

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  2. Randy,
    Thanks so much for the id!

    I must have skipped that page in my Sibley guide -- and hadn't seen a Northern Flicker before. It didn't seem quite right for a Red-bellied Woodpecker. And, now I know what it was up to on the stump.

    This one was foraging for quite a while, and since I was up above, I was able to get a couple of decent shots (even if blurry).

    Lisa

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  3. You know I'll be impressed by photos like this one! Great photo of a bird I have yet to see.
    Rob

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