Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Flying Flicker Circus

While out and about looking for fall colors in McKinley Woods, I heard the distinctive call of the Flicker and spotted him as he chose a new tree to land in. I focused in on him and took a shot.



It was kinda distant, so I knew it was a throwaway shot...










...but as I was processing this thought, he hopped down to a twig and began his acrobatic display.








He found a berry to eat, so his selection of trees was obvious...








He reached down to get another berry when all control was lost!









He swung back and forth and just couldn't regain his balance...











Seeing the bright yellow underparts were a highlight of this chaos...










His wings and tail feathers displayed the gorgeous yellow we almost never see.











He never gave up trying to balance himself on the scrawny lil twig!











I had no idea of what settings I was using, but prayed for the best...










...and although these are not the best quality work I've ever done, I am so glad I got to see this acrobatic display!

8 comments:

Gardener's Garden said...

I love the distint markings on this large bird and it's such a treat to see the yellow. These are great shots and thanks so much for sharing.

Marsha said...

Thank you for front row seats to this wonderful flicker flying circus! They are one of my personal favorite birds and you captured him in "positions" I have never seen :-)

Shelley said...

I loved being able to see the Flicker's underwing colors - beautiful! And great action shots - he was determined to have his berries!

jalynn01 said...

Wow! i love these shots. It's so thrilling to get the underpart of the wings and tail of this beautiful bird, and you did great! It's not often you see this display or ever see it for that matter. Thanks!!

Don and Sher said...

Fantastic shooting, sometimes you just never know, great job

Tina said...

Great shots of flicker and wings! I've never seen them fly close enough to me to see the wing details. You captured some interesting shots!!

MuseSwings said...

What wonderful shots those are! I've not seen the underside of a flicker before - perhaps mine were more modest. Hope he got another berry for all his trouble!

Todd Dixon said...

Nice shots! I really liked seeing the yellow underside of their wings.