Northern Flicker in late February

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Northern Flicker in late February

February 28, 2020 by Mike Powell

I do not know much about fashion, but I am pretty sure that I could not pull off wearing an outfit that combined stripes and dots. Somehow, though, the combination works well for this male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) that I spotted yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This Northern Flicker goes even further by adding a bright red crescent across the back of his head.

Unlike most other woodpeckers that are content to wear black and white and maybe a little bit of red, this Northern Flicker comes across as a bold, colorful, and stylish. I wonder why we don’t have similarly-colored penguins.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Colaptes auratus, Northern Flicker, flicker, Canon 50D, Tamron 150-600mm, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge VA, male Northern Flicker | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on February 28, 2020 at 8:46 am | Reply mitzybricker

Ahhh, beautiful bird in a sweet gum tree. 😊

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- on February 28, 2020 at 9:01 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Ah, I forgot to identify the tree in the posting, but it is pretty distinctive. The wildlife refuge where I took the photo has a lot of sweet gum trees–I don’t think I would want to walk barefoot over those spiky seed pods. 🙂
  - on February 28, 2020 at 5:26 pm mitzybricker
    
    My friend has a couple in her yard! 🙂
on February 28, 2020 at 8:51 am | Reply PaperKutzs

Great photo
- on February 28, 2020 at 8:55 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The bird was pretty high up in a tree, so I was really happy that I was able to capture a recognizable shot of it. 🙂
on February 28, 2020 at 9:40 am | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

Very creative. It gave me a smile right away 😂.
- on February 28, 2020 at 9:56 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ted. It is tough to get awesome photos all of the time, so sometimes I try to provide “value added” with humor or with education. If I got you to smile, I consider that to be a win. 🙂
on February 28, 2020 at 11:30 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Rey Nice Mike! They are a beautiful bird!
on February 28, 2020 at 2:54 pm | Reply krikitarts

I’ve frequently found the flickers’ fantastic, fancy feathery fashion flash fascinating. They are very common in our Minnesota woods and I’m always happy to see them flitting around and hear their distinctive calls, but they are notoriously shy and hard to get close to. Great shot with the (?) sweet gum!
- on February 28, 2020 at 3:27 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I am pretty sure that it is in fact a sweet gum tree. I commend your usage, Gary, of a flowery flood of f-words (in the most positive sense of the term “f-word). 🙂
on February 28, 2020 at 6:41 pm | Reply joyroses13

Yes, I wouldn’t suggest that you try wearing dots and stripes but it does look great on this little bird. 🙂
LOL about the penguins!
on February 28, 2020 at 8:23 pm | Reply Molly Lin DutinaMolly Dutina

I always know the Flicker as he flies away! That white tail patch 🙂
on February 28, 2020 at 9:59 pm | Reply Wendy

Haha Mike I think we should throw away the mirror. Nature mixes up the colours and they never clash. Gordeous little bird, great photo.
- on February 28, 2020 at 10:16 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I am all for throwing away the mirror! I have reached an age at which I don’t really care what others think of my appearance. 🙂
  - on February 29, 2020 at 2:27 am Wendy
    
    You and me both Mike 🙂