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The following images were all made near or on the way to or from a red-shafted Northern Flicker nest in a dead tree at Farragut State Park between Athol and Bayview. The nest is not hard to find and if you want to go out and see it yourself just send me an email and I'll give you directions.
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6-30-07 Saturday
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What a glorious evening! I've shot these little critters to death and they are ready to leave the nest, this is probably the last group of pictures. It has been a fun couple of weeks. Thanks for looking here. |
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The color shift between these images is indicative of the
time of day. The second image is photographed near sunset, the top one 2
hours or so before sunset. Rumors abound of 100 degree days coming,
before you know it it will be snowing again.
What a wonderful place to live! |
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6-28-07 Thursday
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The Flickers have to be ready to leave. I know the adults are ready for them to leave. Both the male, with the red mustache in this picture, and the female came to the nest but hung back and just called to the chicks. Surely they are teaching the youngins that they have to leave the nest sometime. I'd be surprised if they are still there Saturday, but I will go to see anyway. |
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This is a mature male Calliope hummingbird. There are two males and assorted sub adult male and female hummingbirds that use the tree's resident bug supply for a ready meal. They are fun to watch and provide entertainment during the slow times when the adult Flickers are off doing something else. Which is the majority of the time. : ) |
| 6-26-07 Monday
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Went out today with a fellow photographer, Tim Christie. Tim needed a model
for an illustration for a story he is writing and asked me to model for him.
Yes, my first modeling job. Anyway, I thought he would use up the last
available light but he nailed his shot with a few minutes of light to spare.
I went back to the flicker hole and shot these two images as the sun set.
You can see the progression of these chicks in just 5 days (from the pictures of the 21st), I imagine they will fledge any day now. The adult birds are definitely trying to lure the chicks out of the hole. They are getting close, I watched as this male fed a chick just inside the nest. Wish they'd stick there little heads out. |
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6-22-07 Friday
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I don't mean to be mean, but this nest / chick situation is just funny. When the adult comes to the nest, a chick or two crane their neck out a wide spot in the split of the tree. Then, all the other chicks and the adult step on the chick and force it down the split, wedging the bird in. After the adult leaves, everything settles down except for the stuck bird. One little guy took about two minutes to get out, at one point I thought it was dead. One chick got stuck upside down somehow. It was funny watching the struggle, with claws sticking out the nest hole upside down, it was chaos. Any funny. |
| 6-21-07 - Thursday
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We took the scenic way home tonight. In a farm field along the Bunco Road, a heard of 16 elk was grazing away near the tree line. I don't see elk often, so it was a treat. This was the longest day of the year. The sun was below the horizon when I shot this image at 8:46PM. |
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Cloudy skies seemed to doom photography this afternoon, but the sun broke through an hour or so before sunset. The first time the flicker went into the hole today, one chick stuck its head out with its beak open. It was cloudy and the chick only was out for a second. Turns out every time the adult flicker goes into the hole a chick sticks it head out. I'm thinking it is getting squashed in there and looking for an escape. Fortunately, this is just a spilt in the trunk of the tree and not the real entrance. Its pretty funny, and amazing to watch. Shot this image at 8:16pm. |
| 6-19-07 - Tuesday
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While at the flicker nest the other day, I noticed a hummingbird buzzing around on the other side of the tree. I wondered if by chance it had a nest but soon thought maybe it was chasing bugs. Today there were four of them, and I could see them chasing small flying bugs around. I want to think I could hear them clapping their beaks shut, but I can't be sure of that. Anyway, here is a hummer with an eye on some protein. This is a "Sub-Adult Male". |
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| 6-14-07 Thursday
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While searching out bluebird nests, I saw this really cool looking dead tree. Actually, I have admired this tree for years. But this day, I sat and had a sandwich, watching for activity on the hole filled tree. A red-shafted Northern Flicker flew to the opposite side of the tree and disappeared. Since there is only one hole on that side of the tree, I figured it had a nest going. Sure enough. |
