Here's a video of our release of two of the fledgling flickers from the weekend. Let it be said that all of their feathers were still growing in...
Showing posts with label Red-shafted Flicker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red-shafted Flicker. Show all posts
June 28, 2011
June 26, 2011
Hatch year flickers
Most of the birds that we are catching these days are hatch year birds, which means they were born within the last couple of months or so. Yesterday we got our first juvenile northern flicker, and today we've gotten three more, all from the same two nets, and all males.
The red mustache stripe tells you its a male
On this one you can see a white tip to the bill, something that we saw on two of the four, but did not notice on the others
Some of these young flickers can have a reddish wash to their crowns, something you will not see in adults
One of the most obvious traits of a very young bird is that every feather on its body is still growing in, like these tail feathers
This guy flew off, only to perch between two nets on this tree. He's still there right now, but I bet we find him in a net again soon.
The red mustache stripe tells you its a male
On this one you can see a white tip to the bill, something that we saw on two of the four, but did not notice on the others
Some of these young flickers can have a reddish wash to their crowns, something you will not see in adults
One of the most obvious traits of a very young bird is that every feather on its body is still growing in, like these tail feathers
This guy flew off, only to perch between two nets on this tree. He's still there right now, but I bet we find him in a net again soon.
April 18, 2011
April 10, 2011
Red-shafted Northern Flicker
Today we caught a red-shafted northern flicker at palo! Very exciting for us considering the size of the bird and the slowness of the day. This bird was also a great example of how one can age woodpeckers. Unlike most of the passerines we catch, woodpeckers can often be micro-aged up to after-third-year. The reason for this is that they follow a more drawn out pattern of feather replacement than most of the birds we catch. So, by looking at different tracts of feather and determining which ones are worn and which ones are fresh, we can age the bird accurately.
This particular female was determined to be a third year bird. It hatched two summers ago and retained all of its primary coverts and secondaries (and replaced many other feathers). About a year after hatching (last summer)it then replaced the outer three primary coverts, as well as all but two of the secondaries. The contrast between the thrashed and faded retained juvenile feathers and the replaced, darker and more fresh adult feathers is very apparent in the pictures below.
Amanda processing
This particular female was determined to be a third year bird. It hatched two summers ago and retained all of its primary coverts and secondaries (and replaced many other feathers). About a year after hatching (last summer)it then replaced the outer three primary coverts, as well as all but two of the secondaries. The contrast between the thrashed and faded retained juvenile feathers and the replaced, darker and more fresh adult feathers is very apparent in the pictures below.
Amanda processing
August 23, 2010
Pick up
Today was our busiest day so far, with a total of 7 sharp shinned. We got our first male too.
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