I caught sight of an odd display going on between a pair of Northern Flickers on the ground that I’d not seen before. As I started photographing, the female took flight up to a tree branch and the male followed her.
It was time to take it to the trees!
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Northern Flicker Pair (Red-shafted)
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What I was seeing was the courtship of Northern Flickers. With a little dance in time while nodding, bowing and swaying, they suddenly freeze with bills pointed upward and stay that way for several seconds.
This is the same ritual that goes on when two male rivals face off while a prospective mate looks on, sometimes called a “fencing duel.”
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Northern Flickers (male on right with his red ‘mustache’)
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As always with birds, it’s over as quickly as it begins.
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The female took flight again, and the male followed. He wasn’t giving up!
