[EBB Sightings] A Slow Tango for Flickers

Too much time sitting in front of my computer made it imperative for me to get off my butt and get some exercise, so off to Huckleberry Preserve I went. Although movement was my goal, my binocs came along for the ride. Powering along the lower trail, I came upon a break in the vegetation. There I was stopped by an unfamiliar sound. It was low, repetitive, and vaguely flicker-like. Glassing the branches of a towering madrone, I spied a gray-throated male flicker. He was perched and calling, with a barely audible, soft, liquid, melodic series of ?chooks.? He perched quite still, and occasionally fanned his beautiful orange tail. A single, found flicker feather is always a treat, but this was a visual feast. 

Obviously this was a display, but for whom? The question was soon answered by the arrival of a female flicker, who landed a few inches away, and appeared to be as captivated as myself. As he called with the regularity of a metronome, she raised up her bill, exposing her soft brown throat, and moved her head back and forth in time to the male?s calls. ?Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me,? he said. ?Look at me, look at me, look at me,? she replied. We were all caught up in the mesmerizing magic of the moment. 

Due to the severity of the viewing angle, cruel reality soon intervened. My aching neck caused me to break away from my spellbound observations. Reluctant to leave, I sat on the trail for a bit, binocs supported by my elbows resting on my knees. My own pain-in-the-neck biological imperative soon caused me to move on, allowing them to perform their exquisite pas de deux in peace.

Two questions remain: isn?t this rather early for breeding displays, and can anyone recommend a good cervical collar for birders?

Happy holidays and a fruitful winter season to all my feathered and featherless friends.

Debbie Viess

ps Speaking of fruit, a late afternoon trip to Huck in the week prior, during our local cold snap, produced large flocks of tree-top birds, frantically feeding upon madrone berries. The varied thrush and other avian foragers were hungrily oblivious to my presence, and they dropped far more berries than they consumed. With fresh berries littering the trail, I tried one myself. I was pleased to note that the rose-hip textured madrone berries were sweet and delicious. What a great way to carb load for the long, cold winter night, when the cold and rain have caused the remaining, hanging huckleberries to lose most of their sugar content. There is so much to learn from the wonderful natural world that still surrounds us.