Speaking of smart birds, the flickers in my yard lately, which have never
taken notice of my feeder before, are suddently eating me out of house and
home (not that I mind). It took them a while to figure out how to get at
the suet block, which is hanging in a small cage, but now they seem to be
able to fly up and land on it, swinging wildly and contorting their bodies
in interesting ways to get their long bills at the suet. They have also
managed to land on the tube feeder, which has a very narrow perch, and seem
to prefer the millet to other choices (which is just as well since no one
else likes it). Is all this activity related to the courting that's going
on, or could it be that the cold snap limited the insects which they would
ususally eat. I have had three females and three males around the feeder
cleaning up the spilled seed in addition to on the feeder.

All this has given me a very good opportunity to observe them in detail
through the scope. I was surprised to see that the females have a faint
wash of red over the eyes and in the moustache area - this is certainly not
shown in Petersons's (Nat. Geo. doesn't show the females). The males also
have the faint red wash around the eyes, which is shown in Nat. Geo, but not
in Peterson's. Is there any regional variation in these birds or do they
all have this? Mine are all pure red-shafted, near as I can tell. No signs
of hybridization.

- Teresa Michelsen
temi461 at ecy.wa.gov
Inglemoor (King County)