This flashy woodpecker is a ground feeder (likes ants) and is easily identified by the bright flashes of red in its wing shafts when in flight and also by its distinctive call (kleeyah!). First time I ever saw one of these guys was on a trail at Spooner Lake on the Nevada side of Tahoe. I am so jazzed that they are also common here on the property.
10/24/08 Northern Red-Shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus) on the Engelmann Oak.
1/18/15
There are two distinct forms of this Flicker: the Red-Shafted is found in the West, while the Yellow-Shafted is found in the Northern & Eastern parts of North America. There are intermediates of both forms since they are known to interbreed freely.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI love your photos! I’m somewhat of a nature photographer myself and love living up here in La Cresta as well! I kept a semi-formal “Critter of the Day” posting going for a couple of years a few years ago on my Facebook page. I didn’t get it posted every day, but that definitely wasnt for lack of critters up here! :). It’s just time consuming, I need to be retired to keep it up! :)
But I enjoyed it and still enjoy taking photos whenever the occasion arises - mostly with my smartphone - 60k+ photos on it now! Lol - instead of the larger Canon that’s hard to fit in my pocket! ��
Anyways, thanks for inspiring me to get back out there and enjoy the critters! :)
Ray Robertson
21250 Via Sella
Hi Ray! Wow, I missed your comments from December - just saw the blogger email notifications under the "Social" tab (which I never check) rather than the Primary email tab in my Gmail account. Go figure! Anyways, I'm very glad that you enjoyed my photos. They really are just my way of cataloging all the wonderful critters we have up here in La Cresta. I can't wait to retire myself so that I can spend more time enjoying and photographing the great outdoors.
DeleteCheers & happy critter watching!
Arleen