It was my son who spotted this male yellow-shafted northern flicker high in a poplar tree as we were leaving the marsh this morning. As we watched, it began to preen, and it certainly did a thorough job of it. It's easy to see why it's called a yellow-shafted flicker.
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As I was watching other birds this morning just before the trail enters the wooded section, I heard the sound of a woodpecker. I finally located the source - this Northern Flicker. I have seen them at different locations around the marsh, but this was the first time I was able to get photos of one. This was a male, as told by the black stripe on the side of his head. The bottom shot shows the characteristic red crescent on his neck.
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