Northern Flickers on Icicles

One of the Northern Flickers sitting among the icicles in our backyard trees.

We have a small flock hanging here this winter and I am so loving watching them as they perch and feed.

Northern Flicker in the Snow

We have at least two Northern Flickers living in our woods. I have seen them numerous times high in the trees, deep in the woods and their white butts in the sky as they flew away.  They are extremely skittish and I have not been able to photograph them, until this past Saturday that is. 

There was a brief break in the snow and ice that had fallen all morning when this female yellow-shafted showed up on my feeder of all places.  Her appearance at the feeder was new. I had not seen any of them at the feeders but these lady was not the least bit shy about showing every other bird there that she planned to get a meal.  She continued to hop from tree to feeder for about 20 minutes and I was able to stay still enough to grab these close up shots of her.