If you have never seen a northern flicker at your bird feeders, you are not alone. I personally have never spotted at one at mine either; however, they infrequently visit my birdbath. In spite of my inability of entice a flicker to my feeders, the Cornell University’s FeedWatch survey reveals that in some states, more than half those participating in the survey report their feeders are visited annually by flickers. Even then the birds are not regular visitors throughout the entire winter. Those folks that host them say they see rarely see more than one or two of the birds at a time.
First, thanks. I enjoy your blog and am one of many who live a richer life because you share your wealth of knowledge about the natural world. Second, we live in Stone Mountain and were in the deep freeze during this last storm. The flickers aren’t regulars at our feeders, but they came out during the cold snap.
Heber,
I cannot thank you enough for your kind words. Comments such as the one you send makes me and the Blog Master, feel our efforts worthwhile.
Terry
They rarely come around to mine either. They come to a suet cake, but only briefly. They seem skittish. Guess there’s plenty of ants in our yard. The Red-bellied, downy, and even the yellow-bellied sapsucker and the Hairy come to the suet cake too. Guess it’s made for woodpeckers. Packaging generally shows one.
I’ve noticed the birds that come to the suet have the longer, narrow beaks. In addition to woodpeckers, these include titmouse, chickadees, bluebirds, pine warblers, and others. The cardinals, house finches, goldfinches, and others with triangular beaks do not feed from the suet.