Flickering of the Eyes

Northern Illinois had the weirdest weather over the weekend...

Last week was hell froze over; this weekend was spring temperatures in the 60's. The snow and ice melted, it rained all day, and flooding was the main concern. Sunday was pleasant with clear skies and temps in the mid 30's. I went for a drive:

I found a flicker on the side of the road ...



...falling asleep...



...good night lil fella...



Cool Facts from All About Birds:

A common ant-eating woodpecker of open areas, the Northern Flicker has two color forms found in different regions. The yellow-shafted form is common across the eastern and northern parts of North America, while the red-shafted form is the one found in the West.
Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its favorite food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants.
The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory. Flickers in the northern parts of the range move south for the winter, although a few individuals often stay rather far north.