Northern Flicker out in the open

[Loupey]

I must be learnin' somethin': prior to 2008, I could count the number of times I had spotted a northern flicker with one hand.

Now that I know how, when, and where to find them, I see them all the time. During the most recent hike, a saw 6 in a loose group flying from tree to tree. This is one of those. A few were eating (willow oak pods?) and were distracted enough that I slipped in as close as I dared.

They are always behind an obstruction but this one plopped onto this perch for but a moment - long enough to get a few frames.