birdsoup

Today as I pulled into a parking lot I flushed a N. Flicker.  It flew directly away from me.  Actually that direction provides the best view for identifying a Flicker.  The big white rump stands out like a neon light.  Combine that with a blur of yellow in the flapping wings and you have a positive ID.

Flickers are different than other woodpeckers.  You seldom see them on tree trunks and branches.  Their favorite food is ants which they find by patrolling on the ground, often on your front lawn.  Sometimes you see Robins and Flickers on the same lawn.

My most memorable woodpecker sighting involved three species of woodpeckers.  One day I spotted a Hairy Woodpecker on the trunk of a large tree, about 10 feet up on the left side.  A Downy Woodpecker was on the right-hand side of the same trunk.  I could view both birds simultaneously without moving my binoculars.  That is when I realized that the Hairy is really much larger than the Downy, maybe 50% bigger.  I know the Field Guide tells you it is bigger but I never appreciated how much bigger until that day.

When I lowered my binoculars slightly I noticed a Flicker on the ground about 10 feet in front of the same tree.  I had all 3 species in view.  Hairy on the left, Downy on the right, Flicker in front.  I could easily compare the sizes of the birds.  The Flicker was at least twice as large as the Downy, with the Hairy in between.

That sight permanently etched the size differences in my brain.