![\"northern](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/northern-flicker-5755b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/1250, f\/8, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, out of focus branch removed,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nI spotted a different flicker in a tree near Glover Pond in Farmington but it was buried deeply in the branches and barely visible.\u00a0 Just after I stopped my pickup to watch that woodpecker this female flicker\u00a0(no red malar or “moustache) flew in and landed within a few feet\u00a0of the first bird.\u00a0 I was quite close to the tree and I suspect it was the presence of the first flicker that drew this one in and\u00a0influenced it stay long enough for me to get quite a few shots of it.\u00a0 I can count on one hand the number of times a flicker has been this comfortable with me so close and most of those times I was without my photo gear.<\/p>\n
I thought the effect of the side light on the bird was interesting and I enjoyed getting this much detail in a flicker image.\u00a0 This was one of the few shots where she had light on\u00a0her face.\u00a0 I believe she’s looking directly\u00a0at the other flicker and its direction was fortuitous for me because that’s the only direction she could be looking where I could get light on\u00a0her face and still see it well.\u00a0 \u00a0Some of the out of focus branches are less than attractive but the setting is natural and the bird is clear of obstructions so overall I do like the image.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Though the Northern Flicker is common here in northern Utah I find them very difficult to approach. This morning I found one that had other things on its mind so it ignored me.<\/p>\n