I was just about to leave for work in the morning when my wife came in excitedly from retrieving the morning newspaper. Apparently, birdy things were afoot out front. When I got my camera and binoculars, I saw two medium sized birds engaged in some kind of dance in the middle of our street.
Now I love woodpeckers, and from our experiences at our old house, these two sure looked like Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) though I didn’t see any red shafting, though that must be what they are. Judging by their size, I’d guess that they are both female rather than juvenile males.
These two kept at it quite a few minutes. An SUV happened by and they scattered only to return a few minutes later. Here is a decent snap of one:
I captured a few minutes of their antics but they both appear to be either juvenile males, females or a perhaps a combination. Seems odd for any kind of mating ritual in the fall, but apparently this activity and its apparent gender indifference is not uncommon. This was news to us and still exciting to see.
So for your viewing enjoyment, here are a few minutes of their dance. Enjoy!
