Baby Red-bellied Visits

We'd been checking off all the baby woodpeckers for our area (downy, hairy, pileated - note we've never see flicker babies) but no sign of the young red-bellieds until last week. Of interest, we never saw the juveniles accompanied by the parent(s). I don't remember noting this in past years. Maybe we just  missed it this season.

They always look so naked at this point. Funny how simply a tan head can create that image. You can see the red is just starting to come in. Looks like this one is a female:

Red-shouldered Red-bellied

We call him The Interloper. He arrived in mid-January, when this photo was taken, and has been here ever since. I'm surprised that not only did he show up in new territory during the winter, but that he managed to keep it.

When I first saw The Interloper, I thought the sun was reflecting oddly off his wing feathers. Turns out that it wasn't the sun: his shoulders and wings have red-tinged feathers instead of the traditional black.

So far he's kept his red epaulets, but red-bellieds don't molt until late summer so that's not a surprise. Here he is from a few weeks ago:

Wish he was banded so we could tell if his feathers grow in normally during this season's molt (since if they do he'll just blend in with our other red-bellieds).

I've spoken with a couple ornithologists and biologists, and don't have a definite answer for this coloration, other than some type of genetic mutation. I believe this could be an example of erythrism: when black or brown feathers (or fur, hair) take on a reddish tint. This is different than the more commonly seen red, orange and yellow variations due to the manufacture of carotenoids based on diet.

We'll wait and see what the late summer molt brings!

Northern Flicker and Downy

I always forget how large Northern Flickers are (wingspan of 17-20") until I see them with other birds. Here's a yellow-shafted one with a male Downy Woodpecker.

While we have flickers around our yard in the summer, I tend to think of them more as a winter visitor. For the past four or five years we've had a pair in the yard all winter, using the heated baths and coming to our suet feeders. During the summer, natural food and water sources are abundant so we don't see them daily like we do in the winter. Maybe it's the same pair, just forced closer to the house due to diminished food supplies...

Fun fact: Flickers are the only ground-feeding woodpecker in North America!