We originally had 17 trees on our lot when we bought our home in 1973. Many have since been relegated to the woodpile, but we still have 6 of our original silver maples, now over 50 years old. As such, there are lots of missing limbs and holes in the old trees – and that draws woodpeckers. My son Jimmie called them “woody-peckers” when he was a small child. We still use that name.
Through the years, I have seen Downy, Pileated, Red-bellied and Redheaded woodpeckers in our yard. This year, we had a family of Northern Flickers nesting in the cavity of one of our trees.
About 8 weeks ago, my wife Nancy happened upon a seriously injured bird in our front yard. A beautiful, richly colored bird, it was a flicker, lying at the base of a tree. He couldn’t fly or walk. Something had “nailed him.” I’m sure it was another flicker, defending his turf. Many species of birds fight to the death if an intruder approaches.
After that, we saw the pair of nesting flickers more and more often. We have had flickers feed in our back yard off and on for many years, but I believe this is the first breeding pair we have had in our trees.
Northern Flickers are members of the woodpecker family. They are one of the few “woody-peckers” that will feed on the ground, rooting out grubs and insects. They are also agile birds, able to grab an insect in mid-flight. Although they eat fruits, berries, seeds and nuts, their primary diet is made up of insects, with ants among their favorites. Flickers also eat berries and seeds, especially in winter, including poison oak and ivy, dogwood, sumac, wild cherry and grape, bayberries, hackberries, and elderberries, plus thistle and sunflower seeds. Since I regularly scatter sunflower seeds in the rear of my yard, I assume that’s what drew the birds in the first place.
Northern Flickers have an interesting call, “ki-ki-ki-ki”, and we hear them chattering throughout the day. We’re pleased to have them as neighbors. The majestic Northern Flicker is a worthy guest for any backyard.