Northern Flicker...

I am soundly sleeping just at daybreak this morning, It was a clear cold night, so I had the covers pulled up to my chin and my nose poked out breathing in the cold crisp air. It smelled so heavenly! I slowly became aware of the world around me, and was listening to the coo-ing of the doves as they pecked at the cracked corn on the feeder. Then I heard a loud KEE-YAR! KEE-YAR! And before I could even identify to my slowly awakening brain what it was, 4 cats ran right over the top of me, feet in my face, and crashed into the window.

OK, Says I, Must be a bird at the suet. So I pulled Tyler's back foot out of my mouth, Loki's front foot out of my eye and slowly rolled over to see what all the fuss was about. What I have learned, that the cats haven't, is that if you move SLOWLY and QUIETLY you can see the bird longer. All I got to see was the feeder rocking very fast back and forth and the tail end of something that flew over the roofline.

I shooed the felines away, got up did my business and crawled back in to bed. This time on my stomach with my chin on the window sill. And Watched. Soon a very brightly colored Northern Flicker Flew back over to the suet feeder and started pecking away at it. He was about 10" from my face, and very pretty. They are ever so softly colored red on the sides of their face/head, and a black stripe across their throat. The rest of them is a mottled tan and black and white, so I guess you could say it is mostly light tan, They are a big bird about 8-10". Normally they stay in the woods, and you can hear them coming over to the apple tree in Leigh's yard, but they stay away from the feeders. Lately, I have been putting the really cheap suet blocks out. Only .79 cents, but they are full of peanuts and cracked corn and sunflower seeds, and the woodpeckers LOVE them.

Yesterday Harriet and Harry, the "Hairy woodpeckers", were both at the feeder, along with the flicker female. IM not sure what to call her. Maybe Gracie, because they are kinda gray. We'll see.

The Christmas bird count is going on this week I believe, so maybe I should call in my numbers, and see if they will take them. I do have quite a lot of different birds this year.

I also have a varied Thrush that comes over and pecks at the frozen apples left on the top of leighs tree. Right out my dining room window, so the cats are all perched there right now. (says she looking around at Tippy perched on the PC Box, staring down at me. And Ethel sitting in the office window staring at the feeder, and Loki sitting right down there on the floor staring at me 'cause he's too fat to jump up on the desk. SO that leaves Lint, Tyler and Chitters sitting in the dining room window.) Ok, Ok I lied...