The Magnificent Northern Flicker

A peanut butter suet feeder hangs from the limb of the red maple tree in our front yard. I have a perfect view of it from my desk in the study.

Since the feeder is midway between our home and the street, the birds that visit the feeder are often cautious. People walking dogs, runners, and passing vehicles frighten the birds.

The neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk also pose threats with stealth-like swoops at unsuspecting birds at the other nearby feeders. So, all the avian species remain on high alert.

On one recent afternoon, a striking male Northern Flicker was the lone bird at the suet feeder. First, however, it approached carefully. Male flickers have a prominent black mustache on both sides of their bills. It landed on a limb near the feeder and sat perched before it shimmied down the shady side of the tree trunk.

Soon, it moved closer, with part of its lovely, patterned body in the sun. It turned its head toward the feeder and quickly flitted onto it. The magnificent bird only took a few pecks of the suet before a car spooked it, and off it flew.

© Bruce Stambauhg 2025