[Tweeters] Massive Movement of Northern Flickers

[Carol Riddell via Tweeters]

Hi Tweets,

I am posting this on behalf of Stef Neis. She has been unable to post to Tweeters for reasons unknown and would love to hear from others who might have experienced the flicker phenomenon she describes below:

"My friend Bev called me at about 10 AM on Wednesday very excited about a very large flock of birds she had in her yard. She and her husband Steve were observing Northern Flickers in the fir trees on their property. Steve was counting the birds calling out one group of 50 and another group of 30 and then continued counting to over 100 before they all lifted and disappeared.  This all took place in the space of about 15 minutes. Bev was unable to get any pictures or footage on her cell phone that was discernible due to the shadows, distance and quick movements in the trees. The flock did not appear to be eating, just simply gathering and then taking flight. Both are novice birders so I questioned them to make sure they understood the bird they were seeing. They are quite familiar with the NOFL. Their location is on the west side of Highway 525 south of Greenbank on Whidbey Island. I just wish there had been enough time for me to get to their place and see this sight myself!

"My question to the group is to know if anyone has experienced an episode like this in the Pacific NW with NOFLs. I was able to find some information from Birds of the World describing large numbers of Northern Flickers migrating from Canada through the Great Lakes area and over to the East Coast. But what they described typically happened at night or very early morning. Any thoughts or stories of the like would be greatly appreciated."

Stef Neis
Whidbey Island

Carol Riddell
Edmonds, WA