{"id":102141,"date":"2022-05-04T05:25:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T11:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=102141"},"modified":"2022-05-04T05:40:32","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T11:40:32","slug":"male-northern-flicker-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/04\/male-northern-flicker-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Northern Flicker Images"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Northern Flicker in a forest \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This morning I am sharing a few male Northern Flicker images that I took seven years ago at the edge of a mountain forest in the Targhee National Forest<\/span><\/a> in Idaho.<\/p>\n

It was so much fun to photograph this male red-shafted Northern Flicker as he excavated the nesting cavity in a Quaking Aspen. He flew in and out quite often which gave me the chance to take a variety of images of him in different poses.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Northern Flicker peeking out of his nesting cavity \u2013 Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 800, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the issues of photographing this male Northern Flicker and the other birds that nested in this tree was the lighting conditions. Because of the surrounding trees and mountain peaks there was only good light on this tree for about an hour to an hour and a half each morning. The rest of the day the nesting cavity and tree was in the shade.<\/p>\n

\"NorthernNorthern Flicker male clinging to his nesting cavity \u2013 Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

If I hadn’t been paying attention to the sights and sounds of the area where this tree was located a year before these images were taken I wouldn’t have found this nesting tree. I also wouldn’t have seen and photographed the other birds that nested in this aspen. Paying attention to the sights and sounds while in the field is critical when looking for birds to photograph.<\/p>\n

I keep hoping I will locate nesting Northern Flickers closer to home than Idaho. I know I have the skills to find them.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Northern Flicker photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

This nesting tree was chopped down by someone after I took these images<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning I am sharing a few male Northern Flicker images that I took seven years ago at the edge of a mountain forest in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,2578,2244,2255,2261],"tags":[4004,1919,6486,2257,3705,4931,5370,4062,4069,2580,2579,3704,6750,6576,7791,4932,165,4427,4777,2146],"class_list":["post-102141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-clark-county","category-idaho","category-northern-flicker","category-targhee-national-forest","tag-adult","tag-aspen","tag-clinging","tag-colaptes-auratus","tag-flicker","tag-flickers","tag-forest","tag-male","tag-mountains","tag-nesting-cavity","tag-nesting-tree","tag-northern-flicker","tag-peeking","tag-populus-tremuloides","tag-quaking-aspen","tag-red-shafted","tag-spring","tag-tree","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8575.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qzr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23241,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/05\/a-flicker-letting-the-chips-fall-where-they-may\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":0},"title":"Northern Flicker Letting The Chips Fall Where They May","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I could hear the Northern Flicker excavating inside the nesting cavity and when he would stop he would appear with a bill full of shavings and forcefully eject them from the cavity.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of a male Northern Flicker and aspen nesting tree in the Targhee National Forest of Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-tree-mia-mcpherson-8145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-tree-mia-mcpherson-8145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-tree-mia-mcpherson-8145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-tree-mia-mcpherson-8145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8625,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/20\/male-northern-flicker-in-its-nesting-cavity\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":1},"title":"Male Northern Flicker in its nesting cavity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I was photographing some Pine Siskins along a road in Madison County, Montana when this male Red-shafted Northern Flicker stuck his head out of his nesting cavity in an aspen and surprised me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Northern Flicker in its nest, Wade Lake, Madison County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-mia-mcpherson-montana-5876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-mia-mcpherson-montana-5876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-mia-mcpherson-montana-5876.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-mia-mcpherson-montana-5876.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39172,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/05\/05\/northern-flicker-nesting-cavity\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":2},"title":"Northern Flicker Nesting Cavity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed my favorite nesting tree in the Targhee National Forest and this Northern Flicker nesting cavity.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Flicker male at nest, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nest-mia-mcpherson-8290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nest-mia-mcpherson-8290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nest-mia-mcpherson-8290.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nest-mia-mcpherson-8290.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51359,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/23\/photographing-a-male-northern-flicker-excavating-a-nesting-cavity\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":3},"title":"Photographing a Male Northern Flicker Excavating a Nesting Cavity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I dug into my archives and picked these Northern Flicker photos from May of 2015 to share today because I saw a Northern Flicker yesterday and thought of how they will soon start excavating their nesting cavities to rear their young in.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Flicker male outside his nesting cavity, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-nesting-cavity-male-mia-mcpherson-8132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-nesting-cavity-male-mia-mcpherson-8132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-nesting-cavity-male-mia-mcpherson-8132.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-nesting-cavity-male-mia-mcpherson-8132.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69273,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/01\/nesting-northern-flickers-provide-nests-for-other-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":4},"title":"Nesting Northern Flickers Provide Nests For Other Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By excavating their own nests Northern Flickers provide nests for other woodland birds that can't excavate nesting cavities on their own and those nests can be used over and over again. Nature is brilliant.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Northern Flicker perched outside of his nest, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nesting-forest-mia-mcpherson-8171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nesting-forest-mia-mcpherson-8171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nesting-forest-mia-mcpherson-8171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-male-nesting-forest-mia-mcpherson-8171.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23227,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/04\/black-and-blue-all-over-with-just-a-splash-of-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":102141,"position":5},"title":"Black and Blue All Over With Just a Splash of Red","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it was another fun morning at the Magical Sapsucker Tree and today the cast was joined by a pair of Mountain Bluebirds who seem dead set on taking over the Northern Flicker cavity.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Mountain Bluebird at a Northern Flicker nesting cavity, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}