The snow just missed us to the east where they had up to 9 inches with 50 mph wind gusts. We got the original estimate of 1-2 inches. I’ll take it!
It’s been a bleak time for photography in my backyard lately. Usually by the time my garden is done for the year, the birds start visiting the feeders and provide me with plenty of entertainment. Not this year. I can’t remember a time when birds have been this scarce.
Just when things were getting desperate, a visitor stopped by to brighten my day on Saturday. I can count on one hand the number of Northern Flickers I’ve ever seen in my yard, so this was a treat and a bit of a surprise. Northern Flickers are very migratory, so it’s a little unusual to see them this far north in the waning days of November.
It’s easy to tell the difference between male and female Northern Flickers because the males have that fetching “mustache” (Yellow-shafted males have a black one and Red-shafted males have a red one) that trails from their beak.
You often see them feeding on the ground because they love ants. The ants in my backyard have long since packed up for the season, so this bird decided he’d have to settle for the nuts and berries in my feeders instead.
It was a win-win situation. He got some lunch, and I got a great view of his fine, polka-dotted underside:
