>Do flickers flock in the fall? A non-birder friend (part of my social outreach
>program) reports 50+ flickers rampaging through in Queen Ann yard several days
>ago. I've never seen more than a pair at a time. Your comments appreciated.
>------------------------------------------------

I wouldn't say that flickers actually flock (but flockers sometimes flick),
but they do aggregate at good food sources. I doubt if I've ever seen more
than about 10 in a small area, however. Is there no doubt in your mind
that the ID is correct? If so, 50 is mind-boggling, and I don't know why a
Queen Ann yard would be *that* attractive. Apple trees? 50-acre yard?
Could young, molting starlings be called flickers? They don't look like
the starlings of the bird book at all.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416