ARCHIVE
Winter 2004-2005
Nesting Season 2006
Nesting Season 2004
| FLICKER
CAM ARCHIVE Winter 2004-2005 Nesting Season 2006 Nesting Season 2004 |
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| FLICKER TIMELINE:
2004-2005 Northern Flicker (Red Shafted) Colaptes auratus cafer |
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January 25th -29th: The flicker
seems to be more attracted to roosting the the box overnight when
the weather is cold. Still, we have only had a bird in the box two
of five nights this week, and one night the bird appeared at 4:30 p.m.,
seemed to be asleep, then inexplicably left the box just before dusk
and did not return for the night. The seed and suet feeders attract an
astounding number of birds. We count at least ten flickers every morning,
plus a downy woodpecker frequents the suet. Starlings come by the dozens
and sometimes bully the flickers, but one or two of the flickers are feisty
enough to peck at and chase the starlings away themselves. Today we had
Juncos, Chickadees, and about 30 sparrows and house finches around the seed
feeder. The sparrows seem to land on the box regularly--at least one photo
a day of a sparrow for the last week, but they so far have not been caught
on the inside cameras. The squirrel has not been back since the day I rattled
the box to chase him away.
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January 20th-24th: No flickers
roosting overnight and little activity during the day around the box.
However, one morning we counted nine flickers around the suet feeder
at the same time! So we have lots of activity, even though our camera's
aren't set up to catch it! |
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January 18th & 19th: The
squirrel never came back--perhaps the rattling I gave the box convinced
it to stay away. No sign of birds around the box until the afternoon
of the 19th. We counted six flickers around the suet feeder this morning.
Plus, they seem to enjoy eating the dried red tassels on our sumac
trees. |
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January 17th: 1:21
a.m. The squirrel is back, curled up in the nice, warm nest
box. It stayed in the box until 9:30 a.m. when I rapped on the box.
But it took opening the lid before the varmint got fed up enough to leave
its nest. |
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January 16th: The squirrel
was back at 5:15 p.m., and curled up immediately in the nest
box. We discovered it at 6:43p.m. and knocked on the box with a
pole until it left. It took about ten good whomps on the box before
the squirrel could be dislodged--enough to bump our inside camera into
a slightly different view--it no longer shows the opening of the box.
We are working on ways to exclude the squirrel while allowing the flickers
access. The flickers were not as active around the box today, although
one did visit for a few minutes around 1:00p.m. |
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January 13th, 2005:
This morning we observed five flickers--2 male and 3 female--a
downy woodpecker, a dozen starlings and three squirrels eating at
our bird feeder, all in a 15 minute period. The word is definitely on
the grape-vine where to get a fee meal! A flicker was in and out of the
box until about 11:40a.m. Then, at 1:53p.m. a squirrel appears
in the box, and proceeds to curl up and take a nap for the rest of
the afternoon! At 5:00p.m., when I discovered the invader, I
took a long pole and bumped the box until the squirrel made a hasty retreat.
At 5:26p.m., the male flicker was back investigating the box, and
decided to stay for the night. 
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January 12th, 2005:
Cold and snowy today. Two male flickers were observed at the bird
feeder at the same time--one on the feeder on one eating off the
ground. We had assumed it was the same bird in the box consistently,
but perhaps that is not the case! |
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January 3-11th, 2005:
The flicker roosts for several nights in a row, and then doesn't
appear for several nights. Whether he comes or not doesn't seem
to be related to the weather or any other factor we can discover.
Once it came to roost at about 4:00pm, slept for about 45 minutes,
and then left and never returned for the night. In any case, the
bird makes appearances during the day, and can spend anywhere from
two minutes to an hour or more in and around the box at a stretch.
We have put out bird seed and suet in the tree, and the flicker is often
on the feeder or on the ground enjoying our hospitality.
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Above: roosting for the night, head under wing. Below: The bird enjoys the box at 10:57 a.m. on New Year's Day, 2005. 
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January 2nd,
2005: After three nights absence from the box, but
plenty of daytime activity, the bird once again has "come
home to roost" overnight. |
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December 31st,
2004: The flicker investigates the newly-freshened
box lining by the light of day. Comparison of outside and
inside images shows that the red mustache of the male bird appears
white or light gray on the infra-red inside camera. Once again,
the bird failed to occupy the box overnight. |
Above--readjusting the inside camera. Below-- The flicker's breast is visible through the nesthole as it clings to the outside of the box. 
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December 30th:
Since the flicker was able to "hide" from the camera
while in the box, we decided to re-aim it. The inside image now
shows the nesthole at center-left, and most of the floor of the
box. If the bird appears outside the box at the hole, it is now
caught by the inside camera. The rest of the time, our tree is visible
through the hole--even at night, by the illumination of our porch
light! We also cleaned the box, since the flicker had soiled it, and
added new pine chips. The bird apparently was unimpressed with our
efforts--it came by on schedule around 4:00p.m. but failed to roost
in the box overnight. |
Beak of the second bird is barely visible inside the box. |
December
28th: Both flickers were in and out of the box
today. The bird eyes the camera--Who's watching whom?
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Above: The red mustache means the new bird is a male. Below: a flicker curled up cozily for the night. 
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December
2-25th: About 2 weeks after the female flicker stopped
coming for the night, a male flicker moved in. He broke out
the rest of the balsa starling guard, and later came back
and excavated the pieces from the box. He also bumped or pecked
the inside camera, turning it upside down, aimed at the entrance
hole. We had to refocus the camera for the pictures to make any
sense, and decided to aim it at the opening for the winter, since
the bird seems to perch on the wall of the box just under the hole.
However, the bird is able to "disappear" out of the camera's view,
and yet be in the box.
Above: pieces of the starling guard, inside the box. Below: the flicker's spotted feathers & foot are visible as it clings to the outside of the bird box. The image is upside down after the bird disturbed the camera. 
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December
1st: The flicker appeared in one frame at 10:23 a.m.,
but did not come back to roost overnight. |
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November 27th-30th: After a two day
absence, the flicker was in and out of the box for about
ten minutes around 10:00a.m., and back at 4:06p.m. for the
night. At 4:15, the bird was still visible in the opening of
the box. We went outside to see it in person and possibly get
a photo. Unfortunately, the bird flew away when it saw us and
did not come back for the night. Snow and cold on the 28th and 29th
kept the bird away. on the 29th, at 4:05p.m., a flicker was observed
landing in our large locust tree. However, since the dogs &
I were out in the yard, the bird flew away again almost as soon as it
landed. The flicker didn't return on the 29th, and was seen in the
tree on the 30th, but it did not visit the box. |
| November 25th-26th: The flicker
left the box about about 6:50a.m on the 25th., but didn't
come back mid-morning, or to roost for the night. The
neighbors reported seeing a large owl in their willow tree for
an extended period the morning of the 25th. The bird did not
appear at all on the 26th. |
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November 24th: A cold,
snowy morning. The flicker slept in until 6:55 a.m., was
visible on one inside camera frame at about 10:00
a.m., and was back by 4:20p.m. for the night. |
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November 22nd & 23rd:
The bird got up at its regular time on the 22nd,
and returned to spent about 10 minutes in the box around
9:20a.m. or so. However, it did not come back to our box
roost over night. Wherever it spent the night, our flicker
returned at 9:41a.m. on the 23rd for a ten minute visit in our
bird box. She was back in the box at 4:17 p.m.
Definitely no red mustache--this is a female
bird. |
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November 21st: The flicker
got up at 6:50a.m.--the weather was clear, but
cold. The bird was back in the box at 9:40a.m. for
about 20 minutes until 10:00a.m. again. Like clockwork, our
bird checked in for the night at 4:21p.m. |
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November 19th & 20th:
The bird is definitely in a pattern: it departs
the box at about 6:30 a.m. and is back between 4:15
p.m and 4:30p.m. for the night. Snow over night kept the
bird in the box until about 6:50 a.m. on the 20th.
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Above: Excavating the nestbox. Below: Coming in for the night 
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November 18th: Once
again out by 6:30 a.m., the flicker came back at 9:40a.m.
and stayed for twenty minutes until 10:00 a.m. In
that time, the bird excavated about two cups of pine chips from
the box, which are now scattered all over our porch!
The bird arrived at 4:25p.m. and settled in for the night. |
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November 17th: After
a peaceful night in the bird box, the flicker
awoke at 6:30a.m., and left the box promptly at
6:46a.m. a good shot of the bird's head shows only a faint
mustache, indicating this is most likely a female flicker.
The bird briefly checked in at 10:25a.m. and then was
gone for the day, until 4:22p.m. when it reappeared and roosted
in the flicker box for the night.
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Above: the flicker begins his day in the box. Below: back in the box for the night 
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November 16th:
The flicker spent the entire night
in the box, apparently clinging to the side directly
below the opening. Outside images become visible with
the sunrise at 6:24 a.m.: the bird is seen peeking out
at 6:34 a.m., and is no longer present on the 6:39 a.m. inside
image. Flicker calls were heard nearby at 6:45 a.m. when
I went out with the dogs. The flicker was in the box at 10:42a.m.,
and was clinging to the outside at 12:20p.m. and again
at 12:36p.m., but no images of the bird appeared on the inside
camera. The bird appeared right on schedule at 4:36, spent
about ten minutes peering out of the box, and then disappears
from the outside box--the inside view shows that he is hunkering
down for the night.
A curious little sparrow came by at 11:50a.m. |
Above: a nice shot of the flicker's distinctive white rump 
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November 15th:
The flicker made a brief appearance at 9:43a.m.,
then showed up again at about 10:30a.m. and
stayed in the box for about 15 minutes. No new damage
to the house today. *whew!*
The flicker came back to the box at about 4:30 p.m and settled in. After 5:24, the same view of its tail feathers can be seen in photo after photo, indicating it isn't moving--sleeping, perhaps? The outside camera went completely dark at 5:10 p.m. when the sun set. A visual inspection of the outside of the box at 5:50 p.m. gave no evidence of an occupant, and the bird did not fly away when we went out the door (which is located just below the flicker box). It appears the flicker has settled down for the night. We'll know more when we review the images tomorrow morning. |
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November 14th:
The flickers have been active in the neighborhood
recently, and today they began pecking on the house
for the first time since May. They pecked through the balsa
"starling guard" and have been in and out of the flicker
box. We're not sure what they're up to, in the nest box
in the winter! But we'll keep you posted as things progress!
Before the flickers opened up the flicker box, they went to work on the house! Amazing what a woodpecker can do in one short morning. We repaired the hole and put flicker tape over the opening. Hopefully, the flickers will keep to their box and leave our siding alone! |