Northern Flicker...aka burnt dinner

Dear Family,

My apologies for the late, over cooked meal this evening.  As I was preparing to cook for you, I wistfully looked out the kitchen window.  The view is always so mesmerizing.

 I watched as our little chipmunk friend washed his face in the bird pond and scampered home for his dinner.  

I watched as the chickadees and the sparrows shared a meal at the bird feeder and the grey squirrel made an evening meal from the dropped bits of bird seed under the feeder.

And then a flicker of red caught my eye.  Red and black and white spots?

Binoculars in hand, a zoom lens for the camera procured from the camera bag and myself propped up on the countertop called a halt to our dinner in the works as I struggled to identify our front yard visitors.

It seemed as though we had some Northern Flickers visiting!  These woodpeckers use their beaks to dig up ants and beetles from the ground spending less time in trees than other woodpeckers.  They come north during the summer to mate.  It was the first time that I had seen these fascinating birds - and I think my excitement made up for the overcooked dinner. 

Here's hoping this pair stop by our place for dinner again sometime soon!

Jeanette