A yellow-shafted Northern Flicker departs from a nest cavity (photo by B. Hailey/USFWS).
The Northern Flicker is a dazzling, common woodpecker that can be found in most of North America. They’ll drum on trees similarly to other woodpeckers, and excavate and nest in tree cavities, but spend most of their time foraging for insects and larvae on the ground in lawns, prairies, woodland edges and, apparently, pavement. I was recently taken aback seeing a Northern Flicker beak-deep in a split in the paved road on Prairie Lane. Some unlucky ants likely met their demise as I watched the flicker attentively probe this split in the pavement, and could only imagine what the bird’s long, barbed tongue must have looked like from the ants’ perspective as it intruded into their shallow holdout.
A week or so later, I watched as two flickers fluttered, lunged and grappled with each other amidst a top-tier looking cavity in a quaking aspen tree. Both sexes are known to engage in lengthy bouts of ritual combat, and their aggression is intensified if individuals of the opposite sex are present. It’s likely that one of these flickers had previously constructed this cavity, and was eager to defend their claim. They’ll often return to the same cavities yearly, and have to contend not only with other flickers, but starlings, tree swallows, and other cavity nesting birds who would love the opportunity to exploit the flicker’s hard work. Being primary cavity excavators, they are very important ecologically, as many other species will make year-round use of the large cavities they create in aspen, dead standing trees, and even saguaro cactuses.
A Northern Flicker perched on the edge of pavement, feeding on ants (photo by Kaitlin Svabek).
The Northern Flicker is unique amongst woodpeckers not only for their ground-foraging behaviors, but also due to being strongly migratory. They’ll typically return to southern Wisconsin mid-spring, eager to hammer the ground for ants, beetles, and especially nutrient-packed larvae. With a tongue that extends two inches past the end of their beak, the Northern Flicker is well-suited to lap up their calories, no matter how hidden in the soil they may be. A great way to find Northern Flickers at Faville Grove is to look through recently burned areas in the spring, as flickers will exhaustively search the cleared ground, in search of that next delicacy.
Written by Tucker Sanborn, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward
Cover photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS. A Northern Flicker with a black cheek patch, spotted back, and visible white rump patch, is perched on a pine branch.
