I hung bird feeders in my back yard over the Christmas break. I haven't had bird feeders since I was a kid. Activity has been spotty so far, but I had a flurry of birds today around noon after I got home from church and before I went out birding. One of the birds I saw in my yard that actually wasn't at the feeder was the Northern Flicker in the image above. When I saw it, I thought it was a Yellow-shafted subspecies as the red crescent on its nape was very obvious. I quickly ran and got my camera and got a couple of mediocre pictures before if flew off. Once I got the pictures on my computer, I realized that it must be a hybrid as its wings and tail reveal obvious red shafts. There also appears to be a hint of a red mustache on its right side.Yesterday I saw a Varied Thrush in my yard, and today a hybrid Northern Flicker. Maybe I should start doing my birding in my back yard. :-)
This Northern Flicker is of the red-shafted variety as most are here in Oregon.
I saw a Northern Flicker at my suet feeder this evening when I got home from work. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures of it when a European Starling decided to challenge the Flicker for the suet. The Flicker, however, was having none of it!
I hung bird feeders in my back yard over the Christmas break. I haven't had bird feeders since I was a kid. Activity has been spotty so far, but I had a flurry of birds today around noon after I got home from church and before I went out birding. 
Low light and distance typically result in noisy images and these are no exception, but I really like this bird. The red under its tail jumps out more than most I see and its overall coloring is very pleasing.
