Things I see when I look out my window

It's been so foggy and damp lately, really indoor days. Oh how I long for the spring. I was standing at my kitchen sink this afternoon and looking out my window, when I saw something moving in the grass. Was it a small bunny? No. Was it a quail? No. I took a closer look and this is what I saw......I apologize for the lack of clarity...I was so excited to see it just there on the ground, I dashed to get my camera. So I was a tad shaky when I took these shots.


It is a male Northern Flicker. Part of the woodpecker family. Although consider odd for woodpeckers. According to the books the Northern Flicker spend a great deal of time on the ground eating ants. They say they can extend their tongue a good 5 centimeters(2 inches)beyond the tip of their long, curved beak. Now don't even let your minds go there......The Northern flickers let their presence be known by sending out a piercing single pee-yew as softer version of the Pileated. In the absence of a dead, hollow tree, flickers will also seek out metal stove pipes, and believe me I have heard them on my metal chimney pipe. In the winter months in order to attrack a flicker you can put out some suet in your backyard...they also like berries and fruit. I have my compost in the backyard and I think that is part of the attraction. Northern Flickers are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest Coast area. They can be seen year-round but are rare in northern BC in winter.

The Steller's Jays, the provincial bird of British Columbia, are the western counterparts of the eastern Blue Jay. These year-round residents live on forest slopes among evergreens. These guys love to visit my bird feeder and scare away the other birds. They have a very loud call. I have had up to 14 in my yard at one time. Pretty birds but can be pesky.