Northern Flicker on a fence post in the Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, MontanaNorthern Flicker on a fence post in the Centennial Valley – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Early on the second morning when I was in Montana last week I was able to photograph this male Northern Flicker on the side and top of a weathered fence post. I often see Northern Flickers in the Centennial Valley but rarely do they stick around long enough to get photographs of them. Most of the time I see them flying away or diving down into the brush, in fact I haven’t been able to get this close to a flicker since May of this year at the Magical Sapsucker Tree before someone chopped it down and all the nests in the tree were lost. This flicker seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the rising sun, it was pretty chilly that morning.

I am always happy to photograph woodpeckers of any kind especially when they are out in the open like this Northern Flicker.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Northern Flicker photos plus facts and information about this species.