There is a fucking WOODPECKER eating snacks outside my bedroom window!
New. Favorite. Bird.
Lindy West was born an unremarkable female baby in Seattle, Washington. The former Stranger writer covered movies, movie stars, exclamation points, lady stuff, large frightening fish, and much, much more.... More by Lindy West
Ah, yes, the Red-shafted Flicker!
lucky for you!
I’ve had nothing but goddamn Californian-transplant yuppies sledding with their children, shouting at the tops of their lungs, for the last 3 days outside MY window!!
and aka “Northern Flicker”
yeah these guys are common in Seattle, and so are Downy Woodpeckers and to some extent Pileated Woodpeckers. fun birds to have around!!!
Which brings me to remind bird-enthusiasts: I don’t know if Lindy’s reference to “snacks” means naturally occurring ones or human-provided ones, but to those of you who feed your yard birds DO NOT FORGET TO REPLENISH YOUR FEEDERS AND CLEAR THE SNOW OFF THE FEEDERS. If you’ve gotten your yard birds hooked on your offerings, they really can’t afford to have their food supply yanked or barricaded during this rather extreme bout of weather.
Woodpeckers, along with wrens, chickadees, nuthatches and bushtits are all going to be very very cold and very very hungry right now, especially for fat and protein. A guy like this flicker will LOVE you if you supply suet. SUET IS plain old rendered beef fat. You can get it at a butcher, or buy premade blocks of it at grocery stores, hardware stores or wild bird feedin stores.
And hummingbird feeders, check that elixir, make sure it isn’t frozen! If you’ve gotten your yard hummy to stick around for the winter s/he needs you to come through! Hummies can’t eat ice!
The missus and I secured a big bag of seed this morning and are going to scatter some piles about for our cold-ass little buddies
Yesterday, we had a flicker, a stellar’s jay (or more), a small flock of pigeons that seems to like our neighborhood, some spotted towhees, chestnut-backed chickadees, black-capped chickadees, maybe some dark-eye juncos, robins, crows (they usually avoid us), and…one rat.
You write “fuck” in your posts way too much.
I’ve had to thaw my hummingbird feeder everyday. my resident anna’s gets very cross with me every time I remove it. I tried wrapping a dishtowel around it for insulation-it helps a bit. otherwise I’ve had mostly juncos, towees and a lincolns sparrow. chickadees, bushtits,finches and woodpeckers strangely absent.
Today is Birdstack’s Solstice Bird Count, btw. Good place to put in bird observations, and it exports straight to eBird so they can use the numbers for research.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event…
Lindy, your fucks are just fiiine
If you want to make your own suet to keep the flicker around: 1. get some lard 2. get some birdseed (black oil sunflower is best). Mix the two, smear on a pine cone, hang pine cone where you can see it.
Poof! You have made friends with a flicker. I have also seen a couple Downy Woodpeckers.
The birds can’t find food in the snow. Feed the birds.
The Slog bird dorks are finally coming out of the closet.
Do hummingbirds like brandy? That won’t freeze.
Cool! I’ve been watching the gulls, ducks & geese over & in Lake Union this morning. They don’t seem to be fazed by the snow — but I’m wondering if they regret not flying south this winter.
@ 12: some of us are wear our bird dorkiness on our user names. i prefer the term “bird nerd” over “bird dork” though; it just rolls off the tongue.
coming from a family of birders, its comforting to read all these posts.
A very large bald eagle was eyeing my neighbor’s baby stroller this morning. (really) It was cool, but I’d rather seem him snatch a squirrel.
Our suet is frozen solid, with icicles hanging off it. Birds won’t touch it. They’re having quite a party by the sunflower seed feeder though; finches, chickadees, juncos on the ground, even a song sparrow (not those horrible house sparrows). At the zoo yesterday we saw a red-breasted sapsucker banging away at a tree two feet away — fearless little bugger. Yesterday was the best day I’ve ever had at the zoo — we had the place to ourselves, and the night exhibit critters were really active — the bush babies were hopping all over the glass, and the slow lorises came right up and peered at us for half an hour. The birds in the tropical aviary were putting on their best sexy display, calling, flaring their yellow ruffs, and flying in pairs.
I’m putting out fresh seed every morning. I’m partial to the Backyard Cafe Patio Mix that I get at City People’s, and suet in the warmer months, but it’s just a solid brick right now. Living right next to the Arboretum, we have quite the community of finches, chickadees, sparrows and swallows, robins, two pairs of Stellar’s jays, and a periodic flicker in our backyard, and they’re all fat and happy for the winter. Usually I scatter the seed throughout the garden, but there’s a spot near the door into the garage that’s snow-free and is a good winter feeding ground. I like helping out our fine feathered friends, and my indoor-only kitty loves watching all the live action in the yard. He does an especially good Hannibal Lecter impression when the chickadees get right close to the window.
if you spell Flicker in all caps, FLICKER, the U and I strangely merge into the word FUCKER, which is quite close to what these birds are. Pests.
Northern flickers are beautiful birds. Even better, many other birds actually depend on having these guys around to create holes in trees to nest in. Ecosystems! Fuck!
I’ve gone out three times today to dust snow off the suet block for my flock of Chickadees. They’re the best.
spring slogger birding outing? I think lindy is ready to be converted.
mmmmm…. snacks!
Flickers are unique among woodpeckers in that they are often seen feeding on lawns. They are most easily recognized by their swooping flight pattern. I vote for a Stranger “Bird of the Week” column!
all woodpeckers do a “swooping” flight. it’s part of their “jizz” (actual birding term). I’m all for a bird of the week though.
I love flickers!
Fnarf, is there a subject on earth upon which you aren’t well-versed?
Lindy, that bird is not fucking — it’s eating.
A shot of it eating AND fucking at the same time would be kinda cool, though.
Stop saying fucking unless you mean it.
fuck yes! i mean, yay! i got my share of birds too outside my kitchen window and it is a nice reminder to turn off the tv – unless i am watching the wire. mwah ha ha!
I love these posts! Saw a red pilated woodpecker in the U district a few days ago, and the hummingbirds are still going strong.
Does anybody know any birding groups that would be Slog-reader oriented?