Northern Flicker [Colaptes auratus] ~ 2017 #34

My first “official” sighting for this year for the Northern Flicker was actually in February. However the picture from that day was soooo bad I chose instead to lead with a picture I took this past March, when we were at the Heron’s roost by the tennis courts at Stanley Park. This industrious fellow managed to grab my attention away from the many heron families in the branches above.

These two pictures are from one of my favorite sightings to date. I was in Lillooet last summer, strolling through the trails around the spawning channel. There’s one area I like to go to as there’s often warblers flitting around in the trees by the banks of the channel. Plus there’s the osprey that usually scolds me for coming around. As I was walking toward the “old tree” (which is actually a trunk from an old dead tree placed there by the keepers of the land) I noticed some activity. I was thrilled to get a clear shot of this dad feeding his young. He didn’t seem concerned that I was too close either, although he watched from the top of his stump as I slowly made my way past.