{"id":112129,"date":"2023-04-07T03:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T09:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=112129"},"modified":"2023-04-07T03:43:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T09:43:16","slug":"urban-female-northern-flicker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/07\/urban-female-northern-flicker\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Female Northern Flicker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday the sun was shining and I went for a walk at my local pond. Among the birds that I photographed I enjoyed this pretty female Northern Flicker.<\/p>\n

\"UrbanUrban Northern Flicker female \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I first saw the female flicker she was down on the ground, in snow, and nearly hidden from my view. While I observed her through my lens I could see that she was digging in the soil under a concrete curb. I think she was trying to find ants or other insects in the exposed soil there. I took photos of her behavior but most of the time parts of her were obscured by the snow or the curb.<\/p>\n

When the flicker was done digging she walked along the curb for a bit. As she moved forward, I moved my tripod closer to where she was. I noticed a tree about seven to eight feet from the curb and I silently wished she would fly over to it.<\/p>\n

The female Northern Flicker granted my wish and landed on the tree trunk.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"UrbanUrban female Northern Flicker \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I had soft morning light, the pond and some vegetation behind her along with a snow bank behind them for a background. I don’t think that the female flicker could have struck prettier poses on the trunk of the tree.<\/p>\n

Here in Utah the Red-Shafted subspecies of Northern Flicker<\/span><\/a> is the dominant subspecies. On occasion Yellow-Shafted and intergrades are sighted. This female is from the Red-Shafted subspecies.<\/p>\n

I was both thrilled and delighted to photograph the female flicker posed so prettily close to home.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday the sun was shining and I went for a walk at my local pond. Among the birds that I photographed I enjoyed this pretty female Northern Flicker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[27,2255,709,26],"tags":[4004,2257,4070,3705,4931,3704,10698,1984,165,10660,12949,8018,4777,2146],"class_list":["post-112129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-northern-flicker","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-colaptes-auratus","tag-female","tag-flicker","tag-flickers","tag-northern-flicker","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-spring","tag-tree-trunk","tag-trunk","tag-urban","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/northern-flicker-tree-urban-mia-mcpherson-9750.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tax","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33837,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/01\/a-high-key-northern-flicker-image\/","url_meta":{"origin":112129,"position":0},"title":"High Key Northern Flicker Image","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite image from photographing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA is this high key Northern Flicker image taken near Glover's Pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High Key Northern Flicker near Glover's Pond at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-high-key-mia-mcpherson-4436.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-high-key-mia-mcpherson-4436.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-high-key-mia-mcpherson-4436.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-high-key-mia-mcpherson-4436.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74188,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/09\/29\/adult-female-northern-flicker-foraging-in-hawthorns\/","url_meta":{"origin":112129,"position":1},"title":"Adult Female Northern Flicker Foraging In Hawthorns","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This adult female Northern Flicker and a male were both foraging for hawthorn berries when I spotted them from across a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Northern Flicker foraging in hawthorns, Wasatch Mountains, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-female-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-0385.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-female-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-0385.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-female-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-0385.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-female-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-0385.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-immature-mia-mcpherson-4145.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-immature-mia-mcpherson-4145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-immature-mia-mcpherson-4145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/northern-flicker-immature-mia-mcpherson-4145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135770,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/18\/autumn-female-northern-flicker-at-a-birdbath\/","url_meta":{"origin":112129,"position":3},"title":"Autumn Female Northern Flicker At A Birdbath","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I was thrilled when a female Northern Flicker flew into the birdbath for a drink on a chilly autumn day. She seemed to glow in the sunlight.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Northern Flicker at a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-flicker-female-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-9027.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-flicker-female-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-9027.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-flicker-female-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-9027.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-flicker-female-birdbath-mia-mcpherson-9027.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":112129,"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":51359,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/23\/photographing-a-male-northern-flicker-excavating-a-nesting-cavity\/","url_meta":{"origin":112129,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112129","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=112129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}