Tweets,

Just had to comment on some fun flicker behavior:

Soon after the first break in the heavy rainfall this morning I ventured
out of the of the office for a quick look about the grounds.

I encountered two male red-shafted Northern Flickers acting rather oddly.
They were facing one another from separate branches of a small cottonwood
tree, bobbing their heads up and down, with their bills pointed skywards.
Their tails were fanned out, affording one another with maximum views of
their red under-tails.

After a bit more of bobbing, they both flew into the air, very close to
where they had been perched, and a puff of downy white feathers drifted off
in the gusty wind. They settled back into the tree, the lesser-feathered
chap bobbing in much less earnest than earlier.

At this point a female flicker, also red-shafted, flew up and perched between
the antagonists. I don't recall which she faced, but shortly thereafter the
stuckee flew away. The happy couple then settled into the grass near the tree
and began foraging.

I relocated the spurned-one in a nearby snag, preening himself.

Also encountered a mixed flock of kinglets and chickadees accompanyied by
a Bewick's wren serenading their "lunch hour" in earnest.

Happy birdwatching!


Michael H. Patrick ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
mpatrick at eskimo.com + diversity is essential for healthy systems +
Seattle, Washington ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++