Northern Flicker Woodpecker

A couple of days ago I noticed a lot of birds (15-20) on the ground outside. I could tell from a distance that they had long beaks and were eating things from the ground. They also hopped along the grass which I thought was different. Today I was in town at my parents and I borrowed my mom's camera (another post to come) and their binoculars. We got home and there were no birds in sight. Once I got Ashley to bed I went outside and saw a BUNCH of them again. So I grab the binoculars and camera determined to find out what bird loves our place as much as we do. Below is the best shot of the bird I got, perched on the Envoy. After I looked at this picture and looked through my Alberta Bird Book (from Costco) I was certain it was a Northern Flicker. I called my mom and she didn't think from my description it was a woodpecker. We both got on the internet and found pictures and both agreed my original thought was correct. Below the pictures are facts about the Northern Flicker as well as the link I got the information from. If you click the link you will also find some more pictures of the Norther Flicker.



A common ant-eating woodpecker of open areas, the Northern Flicker has two color forms found in different regions. The yellow-shafted form is common across the eastern and northern parts of North America, while the red-shafted form is the one found in the West.

Cool Facts

Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its favorite food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants.


The red-shafted and yellow-shafted forms of the Northern Flicker formerly were considered different species. The two forms hybridize extensively in a wide zone from Alaska to the panhandle of Texas. A hybrid often has some traits from each of the two forms and some traits that are intermediate between them. The Red-shafted Flicker also hybridizes with the Gilded Flicker, but less frequently, and the Gilded Flicker is considered a separate species.


The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory. Flickers in the northern parts of the range move south for the winter, although a few individuals often stay rather far north.

Description
topSize: 28-31 cm (11-12 in)
Wingspan: 42-51 cm (17-20 in)
Weight: 110-160 g (3.88-5.65 ounces)

Medium to large woodpecker.
Grayish brown.
Barred on top, spotted below.
Black crescent on chest.
Rump white, conspicuous in flight.
Yellow or red patches in wings obvious in flight.

Back grayish brown with dark barring. Underparts off-white or buffy with numerous small black spots. Back of neck gray. Tail black above. Eye black. Feet gray.
Yellow-shafted (Eastern and Northern) form: Central shaft and undersides of wing and tail feathers bright yellow. Face and throat tan. Crown gray. Red crescent on nape of neck. Male with black mustache mark.
Red-shafted (Western) form: Central shaft and undersides of wing and tail feathers bright salmon red. Face and throat gray. Crown brown. Male with red mustache mark. Female with brown mustache mark on gray face.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Flicker_dtl.html