Here is a link to the All About Birds website information on the Northern Flicker: They rate a 10 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and are listed as a Common Bird in Steep Decline." Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 9 million with 78 percent spending some part of the year in the U.S., 42 percent in Canada, and 8 percent in Mexico. "Northern Flickers are widespread and common, but numbers decreased by almost 1.5 percent per year between 19, resulting in a cumulative decline of 49 percent, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Here is what they report on the numbers of northern flickers throughout the country. Cornell also tracks current population trends for bird species. One of the best sources of information on bird species is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website All About Birds. Like other woodpeckers they have a long tongue that can extend up to two inches to catch their prey. It is the nutritious ant larva that they crave when excavating soil the way other woodpeckers drill into wood with their beaks. They incubate up to 10 white eggs for 12 days, and the young are ready to fledge in about four weeks.Īlong with ants, northern flickers eat beetles they get from the ground as well as fruits, berries and seeds during winter months. The hole is about three inches in diameter and the nest cavity more than 12 inches deep. Like other woodpeckers, flickers nest in trees and will excavate a hole in a dead or diseased tree trunk or large branch. Northern flickers are found in more open country near forest edges, large trees, parks and residential areas. The red-shafted flicker of the western United States has reddish underwings and undertail and a red mustache. East of the Mississippi is the yellow-shafted flicker, recognized by its yellow underwings and undertail, a red nape crescent with a gray crown, and a black mustache on the male. The northern flicker – Colaptes auratus is a medium-sized woodpecker about 12 inches long with a tan face and buff to gray underside and black spots. In fact, a biologist once found the remains of up to 5,000 ants in the stomach of a flicker. I did a bit more reading about flickers and found they eat more ants than any other North American bird. You will often see flickers hunting ants on the lawn, their heads tilted off to the side to get a better view of the action." Despite the fact that it is a member of the woodpecker family, one of the favorite foods of the flicker is the ground dwelling ant. It is also one of the easier birds to identify in flight: it has a wonderful dipping, roller-coaster flying pattern that is pretty much unmistakable and reveals the bird’s brilliant white rump patch. It can be recognized by the black moustache markings near its bill (in males and young females) and its black neckband. "The flicker is one of the few migratory woodpeckers. Here is a quote perfectly describing the northern flicker from his book "A Field Guide to Your Own Back Yard." One of my favorite nature writers is John Hanson Mitchell. I did some reading on them and share this with you in hopes you too may see the beautiful flicker this season as they pass through. They live in the region all year, but they also migrate from places further north, bringing the flocks through our region. I’ve seen these beautiful woodpeckers many times, but never before in such a large group. Their retreating flight revealed a flash of white on the rump of each bird that confirmed my suspicion – a flock of northern flickers was on a brief stopover and our yard provided the perfect respite. As if in unison they all launched off to nearby trees, but I got a quick count of about 40 birds. I grabbed my binoculars and opened the back door to get a better look but startled them. They seemed to be everywhere in the yard and likely stopped in for a snack and rest on their way through during their fall migration. They looked to be a bit larger than robins and were busy gleaning sunflower seed drops from under the feeder and poking the grass for insects. It was early October last year when our backyard was visited by a large flock of birds that at first I didn’t recognize.
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