Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker -----------
We had quite a bit of snow during the last two days and the temperatures dropped way down (-22˚ C / -7˚ F). 17 different species of birds can be found in these tough times at our bird feeders and water supply and I’m not counting those who show up only occasionally. The flickers have found out about our place again and this season we see at least three males and one female.
The Northern Flicker has two subspecies, the red-shafted and the yellow-shafted. Here in Iowa and the eastern US we have the yellow-shafted form. The image below is not a real good photo but I wanted to show it anyway. While I focussed on the female sitting at a bird bath it suddenly turned its head for an incoming male. Although the male bird is not in focus, you can see why this subspecies is called the yellow-shafted.