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January "High Desert" Bird of the Month:                          Northern (Red-Shafted) Flicker Woodpecker

• Northern Flickers are large, brown woodpeckers with handsome black-scalloped plumage that live year-round in Nevada.  Their brown plumage is richly patterned with black spots, bars, and crescents.  The red-shafted (western) and yellow-shafted (eastern) forms of Northern Flickers were once classified as different species.  Red-shafted or yellow-shafted refers to the color of the undersides of wing and tail feathers. The two forms hybridize extensively in the area between their two ranges.  It is not unusual at all to see a hybrid here, sometimes with yellow wing and tail feathers and the red mustache; or red-shafted with red nape crescent instead of red mustache.

   

  When flushed, flickers often perch erect on horizontal branches rather than hitching up or around a tree trunk like most woodpeckers.  Flickers do fly like most woodpeckers do, rising and falling smoothly as they intersperse periods of flapping with gliding.

   

  Like most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers drum on objects as a form of communication and territory defense.  The object is to make as loud a noise as possible, so metal poles and pipes are sometimes preferred targets for this drumming.  This is an interesting behavior unless it’s your roof vent pipe he chooses at five in the morning!

   

  Flickers are very fond of ants, and it is quite common to find them on the ground, probing the dirt with their long, slightly curved bill to find this delicacy.  In suburban or urban settings, flickers are likely to be found during the winter in backyards with mature trees.  If you are interested in attracting these beautiful and interesting birds to your yard, here are some suggestions:

   

  1. Hang a tail-prop suet feeder with a suet that contains peanuts or insects. In addition to flickers you might see other woodpeckers, warblers, and wrens coming to this feeder.
  2. Hang a wire feeder specifically designed for shelled peanuts.  Other birds also like peanuts, including jays and even House Finches.
  3. Hopper feeders with sunflower seeds will also attract flickers, along with other bird species.

   

  All of these food selections are also very high in fat and protein, which is beneficial to birds, especially in the winter.  Feeders and food can be obtained at Wild Birds Unlimited inside all Moana Nursery locations in Reno and Sparks.

   

  Though flickers spend a majority of their time looking for natural food sources like beetle larvae, spiders, ants and other insects, you can attract these tough-beaked birds to your feeding station with the right mix of fat and protein-rich foods.

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