Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker is a distinctive woodpecker type bird with a bold black "V" on his breast.

This handsome fellow sat on a branch in our backyard. You can tell his is a male because of his "mustache" bu the beak, which the female does not have. This spring, in particular, has shown an increase in Northern Flicker activity and populations as reported Northern Virginia birders and other birders around Virginia.

We saw this female Northern Flicker foraging in the grass in Belle Isle State Park near Lively, Virginia in the Northern Neck.

Notice the absence of a "mustache." Flickers are different from woodpeckers in that they prefer to forage for beetles and insects on the ground, rather than tree trunks. While walking through the woods you may scare one up from the ground and you can recognize them by their loud squawking, white rump, and yellow shafts visible on their wing feathers when flying. They measure 11-12 inches long.

In Fairview Park along the path at the base of the steps near Holly Berry Court, there is a dead tree (snag) with a large hole where we have seen the Northern Flicker roosting in the past. Here is a photo taken at dusk, last October, of a male Northern Flicker roosting for the night.

Sometimes the Northern Flicker will come to your bird feeder but they prefer to forage in your lawn!

(photographs taken in Raymondale, Belle Isle SP, and Fairview Park)

Why a Raymondale bird blog? Dan and Beth Fedorko have been inventorying birds for Cornell University's Backyard Bird Count (www.feederwatch.org) which runs November through April each year. This inventory keeps track of migratory patterns, possible diseases, and decline and increase in bird populations. In response to the Raymondale Environmental Stewardship Task Force, we have started this blog which is separate from the general Raymondale news blog and more personal, to share our finds and photographs. If you see any birds in the neighborhood and surrounding parkland, please send us a photo! We'll help you identify it and might even post it on the blog!