Northern Flicker Showing Off Its Yellow

January 29, 2025

A Northern Flicker (yellow shafted phase)(Colaptes auratus) proudly showing off his yellow. Sometimes I’m fortunate and get to see it, other times it is hard to tell why they are called yellow shafted. This a male. You can tell by the presence of that black mustache.

He’s sitting at a cluster of red, hairy fruits called drupes on a Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra). A fruit quite popular with Northern Flickers though they’re known for pounding on the ground to get ants, beetles and their larvae.

Fortunately for me, these Flickers are here year round.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

4 thoughts on “Northern Flicker Showing Off Its Yellow”

  2. What a beautiful picture! They certainly are pretty birds. I’ve noticed a few here in the last few weeks. They have been devouring the suet during the bitter cold we had. Not so much when warmer. Have a great day.

    1. Hi Diane!

      Thank you for the compliment! So many woodpeckers! I love them!

      There were a couple that showed up during our coldest weather but they didn’t pay any attention to the suet. Just hanging out in the sunshine.

      Thanks bunches for reading my posts.
      Bren

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