Ibis3 sent me a photo that will hopefully make you work for it. Ya’ll have had it easy lately. I feel like I’m not giving you proper challenges. Perhaps a semi-sasquatch photo where the bird’s all blurry will help make things challenging. Besides, it’s a rather nice bird.
Here’s it’s story:
The picture was taken on October 3rd, about a kilometre and a half from the north shore of Lake Ontario, approximately 80 km east of Toronto. There were about four or five of them in my back yard but as soon as I got my camera and went outside to take a snap, they decided it was too scary and departed forthwith. If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer.
So we have one slightly braver bird in a cluster of ‘fraidy-birds, who held still enough for a snap but not still enough for a glamor shot. I have every faith in you, my darlings. Go forth and identify!
Flicker, I think, probably of the yellow-shafted variety since it’s east of the Mississippi.
Gilded Flicker… photographed them in Flagstaff. ;-)
Definitely, Northern Flicker.
Ditto, and by virtue of the black mustache is a male. Western birds, (red shafted) males have red mustache.
They shed the coolest feathers, too, with a brilliant yellow shaft (as Treb implies).
Late to the party, I will also say eastern/yellow-shafted flicker. Apparently not tricky enough, Dana!
Late again, but I concur – flicker of the yellow-shaft variety.
You can’t fool us with these blurry photos, Dana. We’re better than that.
Gilded Flickers (Dana will know about these from her Arizona days) have red malars too, abear; so, yes, a male of the Yellow-shafted persuasion.