Flickermania

Spring and fall, migration usually brings us a few days with large numbers of Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) passing through. This is the only woodpecker around here you will regularly see foraging on the ground. You can scare up a dozen here, a dozen there, and see them flying hither and yon through Brooklyn’s green heart. The white patch at the top of the tail is seen in flight, a great tell for the bird. When these pass overhead, look for the flicking yellow (it’s red out west) of their tail and wing feathers. This is the same bird, a female, showing the difference of the angle and a bit of sunlight on the situation.