Forgaing for Buggy Delights

I spent a good part of the afternoon on March 7th in Luria Park near the Raymondale entrance. A lot of leaf flipping on the forest floor caught my eye. A male Northern Flicker was exuberantly thrashing about the leaf litter and probing the ground underneath.

 Northern Flickers love to eat ants and ant larvae. They have a tongue that will stick out about two inches from the end of their beak to get the tasty insectiod treats. They feed primarily on the ground and while walking through the woods or any grassy area you could scare them up from the ground.

A few feet from the Flicker was a male Red-bellied Woodpecker also foraging.

He chose to hunt near a fallen rotted tree for his favorite food: spiders. They will also eat seeds and nuts. It is possible he is finding tasty arthopod or nut in this location.

All I know is I am glad I don't have to shove my face and tongue into the ground to get dinner!