The Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides, is a large-bodied woodpecker with a long bill that lives in the Sonoran Desert and can be found from central Arizona to southeastern California and south into Mexico. It looks similar to the Gila Woodpecker that I wrote about HERE.
SIZE:
Length: 11 inches (28 cm)
Weight: 3.3-4.5 oz (92-129 g)
Wingspan: 19.7-20.5 inches (50-52 cm)
COLORING
Gilded Flickers are pale brown and gray with a large black mark on their chest, bold spots on the breast, finely barred back, and a cinnamon crown. You can see their white behind while they are in flight along with yellow feathers under their wings. Males are distinguished from females with their red mustache. You can see the female in the above photos and male below.
The male Gilded Flicker has the red color under his beak and the tan head.
They forage on the ground for insects including ants and their larvae and beetles. They also eat seeds and fruits of cactus. They have a long tongue that helps them lap up insects.
Gilded Flickers are monogamous and mate for life, but if their mate dies they may pair with a new one.
In the desert, they make nests in the holes hallowed out in giant saguaro cactus as well as cottonwood trees along rivers.
A Gilded Flicker at the birdseed block with Gambel’s Quail. You can see the spots and black crest on the breast in this view of a female Gilded Flicker.
This is a fledgling who appeared with Red in my Wednesday post. This is such a fun year with a possible three babies to watch with Red and Mrs., my backyard cardinal couple.
Add to that multiple quail families with babies ranging from brand new and itty bitty to rangy teens.
Baby quail.
Papa guarding his babies.
A family of older babies hanging out in the shade under a bench with daddio. Smart birds! It’s gotten hot!
These are the itty bitty babies.
Then there’s the backyard bully bird — the Curve-Billed Thrasher. He doesn’t look so mean perched on a pink flamingo a friend gave me from Costco for a birthday present.
A female Gilded Flicker can make a quick dent in the food block.
Do you have a favorite photo? If so which one?
What’s on the agenda for the first weekend of June?
A Gila Woodpecker in our backyard. This photo has nothing to do with my story today, but I thought you might enjoy it.
I received a strange envelope in the mail with a black and white flyer inside. It said, “Thank you! Thank you so much for your purchase! We truly appreciate your support and hope you enjoy your product.” Then there was a logo and the company name, which I didn’t recognize.
I looked through my Amazon orders to see if I purchased anything from them. I did not.
I went to their website and didn’t recognize it. It had a variety of tabs across the top for products, shopping, etc. I wanted to know what products they sold, so I clicked a tab and nothing happened. Then I clicked on another. A scary thought dawned on me. Maybe they sent me the strange envelope and flyer to get me to visit their website and click! I used my map app to look at their address. It didn’t exist.
I called my brilliant son and thankfully he answered in the middle of his work day. I explained, while freaking out, what I had done. He googled the company and said it came up as a known hacker site.
I told my son I had purchased Malwarebytes to scan for malware. He said I also needed to use a password manager, which he has been telling me for years. He did set one up for me years ago but I must have made a typo in the master password and I was never able to use it.
By using Facetime, my son accessed my computer and took over. We spent the next three hours on my computer updating passwords. He had me practice the last hour and I’ve spent the better part of the weekend working on this tedious but well-needed project. Next, he’s going to take over hubby’s computer and help him through the same project.
I read a page on USPS.com about scams. Usually the scammer mails merchandise to the unsuspecting victim. The person who receives the package knows they didn’t order whatever is in the package and wants to return it to the sender. The scammer uses the recipient’s name and address to create a fake “verified buyer” account, posting glowing reviews to boost their product ratings. USPS says to throw the stuff away or keep it. Buy do not engage with the sender. They call this scam “brushing.”
My husband said he’s so thankful he’s not the one to click on a potential dangerous site, but that it was me. That’s because we’ve always been wary that he would click on an email or link that he shouldn’t. It’s been a running joke in the family.
My son says AI is going to bring scams to a new level and that as boomers we are targets.
Needless to say, I’m behind in my reading and commenting on blogs. But as this project winds down, I’ll catch up!
Have you heard of my scam or been scammed yourself? If so, what did you do?
The Curve-Billed Thrasher at the bird bath.
I thought of this song when I wrote my title for today.
The past few days have been stormy and wet! The rain doesn’t seem to stop. We were supposed to go to a friends’ house for dinner when my phone started blowing up with warnings.
Along with the scary words, a horrendous sound goes off.
I called our friends and questioned if we should cancel and stay home due to the phone warnings. However, we ended up going because it’s uphill a mile and there wouldn’t be any washes to drive through. The rain had stopped when we drove and the roads were drying up.
Unfortunately, the entire area was not that lucky. To date, four people lost their lives who were in their cars about an hour south of us. I don’t think these warnings should be taken lightly.
The roadrunner paid us a visit. He moves quickly and this was the only picture I managed to get.
House finch on the beavertail art.
A spotted a gilded flicker in the tree.
This house finch looks all fluffed up.
Have you had any weather warnings this early Fall? If so, what have they been about?
I was walking outside to photograph cacti on the side of our driveway when Red called. I was focusing on the cacti when I realized that Red was singing to me! I looked up at him in the tree and said, “Hey Red!”
He took off in flight for the backyard. I ran into the house, grabbed the bag of bird seed and found him waiting for me on the fence by our Bird Buddy feeder. I filled it with birdseed and stepped away, but not too far. Red wasn’t scared. He cocked his head this way and that, watching me. I sat on a bench close by, ready to take more photos.
Darn! I thought looking down at my camera strapped around my neck. I wish I had my telephoto lens.
I stood up slowly, walked back into the house to switch my lens to telephoto. When I returned, Red was still there. I was closer to Red than I had ever been before to take photos.
Here are some of the better pics of Red:
2.
3.
4.
5. A series of three photos
6.
7.
I can’t tell you what an ethereal feeling it was to be so close to Red for yesterday’s photo session. I was shooting cacti and plants at different ISOs for this week’s photography assignment. Then Red showed up and I used him for my subject.
Do you have a bird or wildlife friend who you see often?
After waiting patiently from January until now for a new solar panel for my Bird Buddy AI bird feeder with a camera, I made the executive decision to take it out of storage, charge it up and use it without the solar panel roof.
I emailed the company and they said I should receive it this month. Until then, I’m enjoying Bird Buddy and have to charge the camera every four or five days.
I’ve written about Bird Buddy before. You can read those posts HERE and HERE if you missed them.
My son works for a crowdfunding company that helped raise money and marketed Bird Buddy. I think it was one of their more successful campaigns.
In one of my prior stories I wrote about my trouble setting up Bird Buddy. There was an awkward small space to plug in the charger or solar panel. I found it frustrating and I had to get my husband to help me. However, when I set up my 91-year-old dad’s Bird Buddy, he cleverly showed me you can plug in the camera before you put it inside the feeder! Duh!
This is a House Finch who can eat a lot of sunflower seeds!
Bird Buddy takes “postcards” (these two photos are examples.) There was an update to the software and now there are videos, too. It works with an app on your smartphone, identifies birds, gives details and you can play their songs and calls.
Here’s a video of a House Sparrow and Cardinal competing for the bird feeder:
Bird fight!
What birds do you have in your neck of the woods? Which are your favorites?
