Chirps and Cheeps

A Photo Journal of My Birding Adventures & Observations

My birding blog site


  Flicker Frolic

Published: May 06, 2011
Tags: General Observations, Northern Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, hunting blind, photography, photo dome

I recently bought a little one person hunting blind (I call it my photo dome).  I've used it only a couple of times now and I'm so pleased at how close I can get to our bird friends without them having a clue that I'm in there. It's really quite amazing.

Today, after I finished a rather intense work day, I treated myself by pulling out my photo dome and set out to photograph what I could.

I was happy to see a little White-throated Sparrow up close - and got some nice shots of him (her?).  I was hoping a White-crowned would come by, but no such luck.

After awhile, though, I casually looked out the back flap of the dome - and spotted a Northern Flicker (yellow shafted) poking around in the grass!  I've been DYING to get a good shot of one of these beauties.  So quickly re-positioning myself, I started shooting. Soon, she took off and landed on the trunk of a nearby tree - and to my surprise, there was a male flicker there.  They tussled a bit - I think they may have mated - and then they separated further apart on the tree, and shortly after that, they each flew off in different directions.  Wow! I'm so glad I happened to look out that back window of my photo dome!

FYI: did you know that Northern Flickers are members of the woodpecker family and can often be heard drumming to attract a mate (sometimes on the metal flue of a fireplace)? There are 2 races: the yellow-shafted and red-shafted. And the yellow-shafted, which you see here, is the state bird of Alabama.

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Female Northern Flicker (yellow shafted)

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Female Northern Flicker (yellow shafted)

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The male must have been signalling from the tree trunk

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Soon the female joined him ... her boyfriend?

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It was over quickly

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Right after this, they each went their separate ways

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A lovely White-throated Sparrow

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White-throated Sparrow

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Chipping Sparrow

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Chipping Sparrow

Reply from: Lynn on 5/7/2011 6:32 PM
 Nice shots. The Flickers are really pretty birds and I'm so glad you got some nice photos of them. I'm glad you took time out of your day for some relaxation and "play" time.


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