I've had a couple flickers in the yard the past couple days and haven't
really paid much attention to them until this afternoon as they were feeding
on the lawn just a few feet from the house. I noticed the male had black
'whiskers' and a discreet red vee on the nape of its neck. As I looked more
closely with my handy binoculars I could see the yellow under tail feathers.
It's face has much more brown on it than the female western, red-shafted
it's hanging around with.

As they continued to poke their beaks into the ground and grass I thought
they made a wonderful pair of environmentally friendly lawn aerators. Not
to mention all the insects they must be reaping on this very warm fall
afternoon.

Must be part of the avian exchange program.....

Mary Hrudkaj
hrudkajm at hotmail.com
Belfair, north Mason County