I found another nest!! Actually, I don't know if it really is a nest yet. I heard a tapping while I was walking in the woods by the goat pasture. I looked up and found the hole. While I was watching it, the flicker poked his head up so I could see him. It's a male flicker. The hole is in a cherry tree.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
The hole is hard to see unless you know where it is. I tried to show Barry twice and finally I took a photo of it and had him stand in my footprints. Then he got it! I saw the male flicker inside again, but did not hear tapping.
According to https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory, both sexes excavate, but I've only seen the male so far. "The entrance hole is about 3 inches in diameter, and the cavity is 13-16 inches deep. The cavity widens at bottom to make room for eggs and the incubating adult. Inside, the cavity is bare except for a bed of wood chips for the eggs and chicks to rest on. Once nestlings are about 17 days old, they begin clinging to the cavity wall rather than lying on the floor."
*I wonder if and how the adults clean the nest?
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