The last year that we owned our house, a pair of flickers chose a dead tree near the deck to build a nest and raise their young. We got a “bird’s eye view” of it all. The couple began by coming to the tree for several days in a row to check it out. Next, they pecked an almost perfectly round hole into the tree.
They flew in and out of the hole for several days, bringing nesting material with them. One day when I was home in the middle of the day, I saw a starling go in the hole while the flickers were away. The male flicker came home to find the intruder. As I watched, I heard a lot of squawking and saw black feathers flying out of the hole. The starling managed to escape, and he never tried that again!
Soon, there were baby bird noises coming out of the hole in the tree. I borrowed a 35 mm camera with an extended lens and a tripod, and sat out on the deck for hours, waiting for a good shot. I was rewarded with several photos of the flickers feeding their babies. All too soon, the babies grew and fledged, and it was over. What an awesome summer that was!
Gaelyn says
July 22, 2009 at 5:12 amA very cool observation and memory.
Sally in WA says
July 22, 2009 at 6:36 amWhat a great memory, Karen. And to be so close to the "action". I would have enjoyed watching those flickers, too. Great picture of one.
Thanks for playing this week!
LceeL says
July 22, 2009 at 9:27 amNow THAT must have been so cool.
Ms. Fiddlesticks says
July 22, 2009 at 5:17 pmThose birds can really take care of things. Amazing. Nice memory for Wednesday. Hope all is well.
Sallie says
July 22, 2009 at 7:46 pmLoved this post! Pretty much the only thing I miss from our stick home is our backyard bird feeders.
Sallie
Christine says
July 24, 2009 at 4:40 pmAll I have in my yard are a pair of crows. It was funny when one of them was taking a bath by rolling in the snow in the spring. Your Flickers are much prettier though.
diane says
July 25, 2009 at 5:19 amWhat an awesome shot that was!
How is your sore arm?