Not common, but a return visitor. I spotted this guest last January, and I’ve heard it a couple of times in the last week. The Northern Flicker is back!
See it? Neither did I. But what I heard was a tapping or knocking sound directly overhead. I thought it might be one of the downy woodpeckers we see here every once in a while, but nope! Just above center, on a bare branch, is a much larger bird.
The yellowish belly with all of those spots! That black, crescent-shaped arc under its chin! It’s our red-shafted Northern Flicker, back for a refill of SoCal bugs, and I have just the dead branches for it!
Is this the exact same bird as was here in January? I don’t know. Maybe? Probably? We have other migratory birds (the juncos, some of the hummingbirds, the yellow-headed blackbird) that seem to be the same ones coming back year after year, but as I’ve noted before, I can’t get any of them to wear nametags or sign in on the guest register, so it’s a guessing game.
I unfortunately didn’t have my “good” camera (the DSLR with the telephoto lens) with me, just my cell phone. As has been said, the best camera is the one you have with you.
Look at that beak! It makes it obvious that it’s a large member of the woodpecker family, doesn’t it?
I’ll try to remember to carry my DSLR when I go out, just in case, and I’ll keep and eye out for the chance to get some better pictures.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 