Northern Flickers

Colaptes auratus

Northern Flickers are large, brownish woodpeckers with black scalloped plumage, large, slightly curved bills and small rounded heads.

Male Northern Flicker Images

By |2022-05-04T05:40:32-06:00May 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I am sharing a few male Northern Flicker images that I took seven years ago at the edge of a mountain forest in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho.

Adult Female Northern Flicker Foraging In Hawthorns

By |2024-03-07T14:10:23-07:00September 29th, 2020|Categories: Birds, East Canyon, Morgan County, Northern Flickers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This adult female Northern Flicker and a male were both foraging for hawthorn berries when I spotted them from across a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.

Nesting Northern Flickers Provide Nests For Other Birds

By |2024-03-07T14:34:56-07:00May 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

By excavating their own nests Northern Flickers provide nests for other woodland birds that can't excavate nesting cavities on their own and those nests can be used over and over again. Nature is brilliant.

Immature Northern Flicker In The Wasatch Mountains

By |2024-03-07T14:06:49-07:00August 24th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Northern Flickers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This immature Northern Flicker was one of the last birds I spotted and photographed three days ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains and I was happy that she stayed long enough for me to take a nice series of images of her.

Photographing a Male Northern Flicker Excavating a Nesting Cavity

By |2024-03-07T15:00:33-07:00March 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Nesting Birds, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I dug into my archives and picked these Northern Flicker photos from May of 2015 to share today because I saw a Northern Flicker yesterday and thought of how they will soon start excavating their nesting cavities to rear their young in.

Northern Flicker on a fence post in the Centennial Valley

By |2024-03-07T13:58:02-07:00September 15th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Northern Flickers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Early on the second morning when I was in Montana last week I was able to photograph this male Northern Flicker on the side and top of a weathered fence post.

Northern Flicker Letting The Chips Fall Where They May

By |2024-03-04T12:52:09-07:00May 5th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Northern Flickers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I could hear the Northern Flicker excavating inside the nesting cavity and when he would stop he would appear with a bill full of shavings and forcefully eject them from the cavity.

Male Northern Flicker in its nesting cavity

By |2024-03-07T13:53:32-07:00June 20th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Madison County, Montana, Northern Flickers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was photographing some Pine Siskins along a road in Madison County, Montana when this male Red-shafted Northern Flicker stuck his head out of his nesting cavity in an aspen and surprised me.

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