Education about flickers, the pics and the challenge
Northern flickers, a type of woodpecker, are one of my favorite birds to watch. There are two types: the red-shafted and yellow-shafted (or yellow hammer for the noises it makes pecking on woody surfaces). The 'shaft' refers to the material that reinforces the wing. Flying overhead, the red northern flickers' beautiful orangish-red undercarriage is visible as well as the orange and blue feathers. The birds alternate between wing flapping and gliding, gaining and losing altitude. The flickers are abundant in the Alameda Open Space year round. There are two ways I primarily see these birds: the first is by sound, a rat-a-tat on a tree or a piercing yelp that it makes. The second is by movement. Really great shots of these woodpeckers have eluded me, however. The picture on the bottom illustrates what I normally see. You may not even see the pair of flickers in the tree. (hint: Locate the 'v' on the left side of the tree, then look just to the right.) The top picture...