Claysmom, perhaps your son would be interested in making his property a Certified Wildlife Habitat? This is easier than most people might think. You just need to provide food, shelter and water for various types of animals. You can Google it and read all about the requirements online, and even print out an application for the official certification. Nicki's city yard is certified, so even those without rural property can qualify. I encourage everyone who is interested to check it out. (If I can managed to stay on the computer long enough, I'll see if I can find the link, but I'm having some unanticipated difficulties from my foot surgery, and won't be here very long.) Glad you guys enjoyed seeing this old post pop up again. I do love these birds, and am happy it was of interest to you. Marcia

Howdy, konrad, janie and luc! WOW, long time indeed!!!! Konrad, I keep reading and hearing that about my shots, about them looking like paintings. Since I had to stop drawing due to the carpal tunnel, the camera has given me freer rein in getting what I see down better than any ink ever did . . . for me, that is. There's still a time or two when I will sit down to draw, and this summer I will be working on 'cartoonish' owls and the like for our church, but these will be larger than life :) Janie- it has been quite some time. . .and it is good to be back here. I keep the browser open to this page and while I may not post every day, at least I can show up from time to time and share what I am seeing :) Luc, well, your English seems good to me! :) I have been working on photography off and on since 2001, when I acquired my first digital camera after years of working, again, off and on, with SLR. Joe in SW NH rekindled something in me that way when he was shooting photos everywhere he went while here visiting with me in October and part of November of 2000, and at one point during our visit, he let me use his camera to capture a couple of shots of Harlequin Ducks. I still have his shot of Nevermore gracing my wall. . .I miss him. . .I miss Nevermore, but think I know that she's the bird I keep running in to at MacKerricher State Park. . . Glad your RWBB's and Grackles are back. Power's flickering, gotta run, Feather

Hi Jane, I studied the reproductive biology of flickers from 2003-2009 as part of my job (I am a wildlife biologist). What you probably saw is a territorial dispute between 2 males. I doubt that one bird is a female since, although they can look similar when recently fledged, they would have molted already into adult plumage prior to their first breeding season. For instance, some recenlty fledged female Hairy Woodpeckers can have red on top of the head resembling a male, but then by winter, have molted into adult female plumage and lost all red. Woodpeckers, including flickers, have very distinct behaviors when it comes to territorial disputes. There is rarely any direct fighting, instead, the birds posture to each other, often holding their beaks at weird angles, flattening themselves to branches/trunks, waving their heads back and forth, wing flashing, etc. All of this is done to avoid direct contact fighting. However, sometimes there are fights which can resemble mating. Now, I am not saying for sure that they aren't two males trying to hook up, but from what I have observed of these birds over a seven-year period, a territorial dispute sounds more likely. Further, this is the time of year (March) when most woodpeckers begin firmly establishing territories in preparation of the breeding season. I just wanted to chime in my own behavioral observations of flickers and what I know of woodpecker behavior in general. BN

Small update: I was out at dusk doing some last minute watering and debating on which pots to bring under the porch in case there was a light frost. I thought the little guy would've been asleep, but apparently my noises woke him up and he sat on the broken branch over his hole to watch me for a good 15 minutes, taking occasional flights over to some sycamores (he's flipping off pieces of bark, apparently for a before-bed snack). However, when he finally flew back into his nest, I could hear the chatter of TWO birds. Look's like he's found his significant other. Now I can't wait for the eventual little feathery fuzzballs in awhile. I'll try to buy a suet feeder this weekend if I can remember.