Come rain, come snow, come sunny mornings -

 

Our pair of beautiful Northern flickers are constant visitors. Several years ago I noticed them on the ground in the back garden. They had a youngster and the father was apparently training it on how to find and eat insects, ants and beetles being their favorite food, while the mother watched from the fence. They are the only woodpecker to regularly feed on the ground.

I fell in love with these spotted and striped woodpeckers that morning!  

Northern flicker - female - 12" brown and black woodpecker,

black necklace above speckled breast, red spot on neck

Male flicker, same except for a black mustache making

 it quite easy to distinguish.

Since our one dismal snow fall of this winter - just when a nice 6" would have been great as there was plenty of free time to play, build snow people, make snow angels, throw snowballs, and give housebound children, and adults, "something different to do" - the flicker pair have been devouring suet cakes which I stay busy replenishing. These could be their next favorite meal when insects aren't plentiful.  

Even as I write on this lovely morning, bright with welcome sunshine and the promise of a fine day with a high of 63F,  the pair of flickers are enjoying breakfast. The female seems really hungry, perhaps preparing to become a 'mom' this spring.

The male usually selects the nest site, taking up to 12 days to excavate. They have one brood per year, laying 5-8 white unmarked eggs, and both parents incubate for 14 days. Babies fledge in 25-28 days and both parents feed the young.

I hope we see babies this year.

I'm adding this photo to show the size of the woodpecker compared to the Eastern bluebird. They seem to get along fine together at the feeders, the bluebird usually sitting patiently waiting for a chance to nibble. . . . . . .

. . . . . . and this photo, showing the beautiful flash of golden wing and tail feathers displayed as this male flicker flies away with a bill stuffed with suet, under the watchful eye of the bluebird.  Here in the southeast, populations of these woodpeckers swell in winter when northern migrants arrive, and our own, being non-migrators, grace us with their presence year round. 

We really are so lucky. Nature is so generous.

All photos taken from my dining room window.