Sunday, 27 March 2011

Macro Monday - Northern Flicker


The other day, I was sitting at my computer, staring out the window, daydreaming working really, really hard, when, all of a sudden, someone decided that it would be a good idea to start using a pneumatic drill on my roof. I was not impressed and neither was my cat.

"What the bloody hell!" I declared

"Prrrrruupppp!!!" she declared.

We both craned our necks out of the window and what should flash by? A red-shafted northern flicker (Colaptes auratus). Not a pneumatic drill, afterall - which I was quite relieved about, since I don't recall giving anyone permission to use a drill up there. These most beautiful of birds are quite common around here and the males like to communicate and declare their territories by drumming on things, including, apparently, my roof. Unlike most woodpeckers, they actually like to eat ants and other creepy crawlies down on the ground. They use their rather impressive beaks to find their lunch in your lawn and their long barbed tongues to ensnare innocent invertebrates.

So, I was quite the happy birder when, yesterday, we manage to catch one of these woodpeckers in one of our mist nets.  It was a female and she was just fabulous!




While I was out nerding birding, a little oregon junco flew down and posed quite nicely for a few photos before tweeting goodbye. No, he didn't have a cell phone - he really did tweet.........


For more Macro Monday, go here.

Oh and just so that you don't worry about me over the next few weeks, I will be going AWOL - the time has come to deal with the not-a-baby-bump and apparently they don't have WiFi at the hospital - what!?!?! Useless public health system. I bet if there was a private option, they would offer WiFi........
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20 comments:

  1. Teresa27 March 2011 at 16:58

    Those shots are amazing! The best of luck with your "not-a-baby-bump"!

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  2. Jan n Jer27 March 2011 at 17:17

    The N.flicker is such a beautiful bird...we dont see many of them here in my neck of the woods.

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  3. Trish ~ ♥ ~27 March 2011 at 18:34

    nothing nerdy about birding, great catch

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  4. Cortes27 March 2011 at 18:41

    Great shots, particularly of the junco, which I think is the better of the two. I always seem to identify with the plump ones!

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  5. Roan27 March 2011 at 19:07

    Fantastic shots. Such pretty birds. Good luck! Hope you are back and feeling wonderful very soon.

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  6. Rosie Gan27 March 2011 at 20:03

    I loved reading your post. Got me smiling to myself...wonder what Hubby thought when he saw me smiling at the monitor.Have fun birding and post some more close-ups of those bird profiles (the portraits!)
    Rosie

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  7. Baino27 March 2011 at 21:25

    Well good luck with whatever procedure is going to cure your bump. Pics just stunning as usual.

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  8. Kala27 March 2011 at 22:28

    Beautiful details and colors in the images of the Flicker.

    And all the best with getting the bump resolved.

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  9. Nicolette28 March 2011 at 01:56

    Wow, wonderful photos of these gorgeous birds...

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  10. Anonymous28 March 2011 at 04:41

    I love spring, and running out to catch a bird in the lens! These shots are a wonderful catch.

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  11. Chie Wilks 28 March 2011 at 07:44

    awesome shots...it's good you catch one, less woodpecking. I love the colours of their feathers

    my entry:
    http://chiescameraworks.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-shots-of-orchids-in-mosaic-and.html

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  12. Maude Lynn28 March 2011 at 10:48

    What beautiful shots!

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  13. Jay at The Depp Effect29 March 2011 at 16:12

    Wow, what a gorgeous woodpecker! Over here, it's the green woodpecker which comes down onto lawns and eats the ants. We often hear them, but seldom see them, because, well, they're green, and the thing about lawns is that they're green, and so are trees ... you see the problem!

    I'm so sorry, I'd missed the thing about your not-a-baby bump! I do hope all goes well at the hospital! Don't forget to let us know how it goes!

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  14. Don't Bug Me!29 March 2011 at 18:53

    Thanks everyone for your kind comments and best wishes!

    I shall be back before you know it - perhaps I shall celebrate my return with a fiendishly difficult Macro Mystery?

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  15. Cortes29 March 2011 at 20:18

    Nothing would please me more.

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  16. Unknown29 March 2011 at 20:51

    How lovely! You got some fantastic photos! I've never seen that last one before! :)

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  17. Carolina1 April 2011 at 10:36

    Oh oops, I'm still rather worried about you, but I followed the link to your not-a-baby-bump post and made a tiny error in my comment there. Not important. You are though. Hope you're well and will be even better after the surgery if it ever happens.
    ;-)
    Oh, and nice shots. Beautiful birds.

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  18. Mike B.2 April 2011 at 22:25

    Beautiful shots of the flicker. They are amazing birds- and loud!

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  19. Dave10 April 2011 at 18:37

    Beautiful photo of a beautiful bird!

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  20. Suldog2 June 2011 at 08:51

    Ah! This explains something that struck me as absurdly funny!

    The other day I heard what sounded like drilling of some sort outside. I went out into our backyard and looked around. Hearing it again, I looked up at a rooftop near us and spotted what I thought was a red-headed woodpecker pounding his beak "rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat" on an aluminum covering over a chimney.

    I thought, "What a stupid woodpecker!", but I guess I'm the stupid one, as I had no idea the bird might be doing it on metal on purpose!

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