[Tweeters] Re: Massive Movement of Northern Flickers

[Jim Elder via Tweeters]

Carol/Stef reported a large flock of flickers on Whidbey Island and wondered if this was normal. Gary reported on eBird statistics and his own experience.
Like Gary, I've been birding for fifty years. Unlike Gary, my Avisys software is still running. I can only remember and Avisys confirms seeing a substantial flock of flickers once which was almost exactly two years ago at the Northern Point Lighthouse on Brier Island, Nova Scotia. It could easily have been an undercount but I estimated 30 flickers. This was not just a heavy concentration of flickers recorded over the course of the day. It was very much a tight migratory flock. They were moving through the small spruce trees there and after several minutes the entire flock as a unit launched themselves out over the Bay of Fundy towards the coast of Maine. Incidentally there were also scads of warblers and other songbirds behaving similarly except they weren't acting so cohesively as a flock. Even though I see flickers all the time, this was a thrilling birding moment. So my takeaway is that, even though it is uncommon, flickers do occasionally move in migratory flocks. Based on Gary's data it is most likely to be observed in those migratory traps where migrants collect before passing over open water.  Also I can highly recommend Brier Island if you are ever considering witnessing a fall migration in the Canadian Maritimes.

Jim Elder , Seattle, WA
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