I was sitting outside by my raised layout the other day for a moment. I had my camera with me as I had been taking images of the Monarchs. I kept hearing this weird bird noise, well weird to me anyway. I finally saw that it was these 2 Flickers that were circling a tree. I'm guessing it was some kind of mating noise as they did not seem aggressive towards each other. I was able to catch this image of them together.
Nice catch.
ReplyDeleteI looked up flickers and fall behaviour and got the AI summary I'll paste below. Sounds like they are just getting friendly for the trip south.
I don't trust AI to be 100% accurate by any means. It only sweeps up what is on the web and it can be "garbage in, garbage out". But what they say sounds plausible.
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Northern flickers get together in loose groups during the fall for migration and winter foraging. Unlike the territorial and pairing behaviors seen during the spring and summer breeding season, the fall and winter months are a time for social flocking.
Key facts about this seasonal behavior:
Migration: Northern flickers are one of the few migratory woodpeckers. The northernmost populations migrate south during the fall, and they often travel in loose flocks along migration routes. Ornithologists have reported observing massive flights of flickers during peak fall migration.
Foraging: While they spend their breeding season foraging alone or in pairs, they will form larger, unstructured groups during the winter. These groups can gather in open areas, such as cornfields or lawns, to feed on insects.
Foraging behavior: As a species that spends a lot of time feeding on the ground for ants and beetles, flocking can increase their foraging success in the winter.
Not a permanent bond: This cooperative behavior does not extend to mating, as northern flicker pairs do not stay together year-round. Some studies have shown that pairs that migrate separately in the fall may return to breed together in the spring, but they typically don't migrate or winter together.
Very interesting, thanks.
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