Northern Flicker

[Marina Scarr]

Finally found a Northern Flicker nest last season only to have the tree come crashing down during one of our violent rain storms. Here is the male poking his head out of the cavity. The female does not have the black mustache. There were actually 4 species nesting in this condo tree: a kestrel family which was also wiped out; a pileated which had already fledged; and a Red-bellied Woodpecker which hadn't laid its eggs yet. Another nest tree bites the dust. :e3

Thank you for looking. Comments and/or critiques are always most welcomed and much appreciated.

Canon 1D4, Canon 500L & 2.0 TC @ 1000mm
F10, 1/1000sec, ISO 800, manual mode
Feisol tripod, Jobu head

[arash_hazeghi]

very cool Marina! I like the open beak and the eye contact

[John Robinson]

You get such great species over there ! This looks a cool guy. I like the way the head is not straight out of the tree from the side but on an angle which I think makes a much better shot. Interesting the number of birds using the tree.
I once started to write a book about a hole in an apple tree that was used over 12 years by a host of different things. I lost interest.!
Anyway- Great shot.
JohnR

[Phil Lanoue]

What a face! Perfect setting.

[Troy Lim]

That is amazing. Nice looking bird for sure. BG is great.
It must have been all the mating activities that crash the tree.

[Richard Flack]

Hi Marina, lovely image. Beautiful bird with nice detail. If it was mine I would give more space to the left and take from the right. TFS

[Joseph Przybyla]

Spot on Marina, a beauty of an image. Tragic that the tree was blown down, these old snags are so important.

[Ian Wilson]

I like the capture - it tells me a story. Too bad about losing such a great nest tree - at least some officious, risk-averse local authority didn't cut it down as happens all too often here!
Regards, Ian

[Daniel Cadieux]

The local authorities here did cut down the best tree this side of town for "the public's safety"...a tree that hosted many nesters well before this spot was turned into a park.

Anyhow, nice image Marina. I like the happy / surprised look on this fella.

[Binu John]

Excellent shot, Marina! I really like the background, eye contact and the open beak!