Here's a video of a male Northern Yellow-Shafted Flicker in our front yard today, using one of our chickens' many dust-baths.
His dusting technique is so different from the chickens, who lounge on their sides for minutes at a time, throwing clouds of dust up over themselves with their feet and wings. The flicker is clearly more concerned about self-preservation, and the approach of the motorcycle sends him flying away.
I've been hearing his call for a few days and trying to get a good enough look at him to identify him. He has been "PEEE-OOOoooo"'ing loudly in our yard and the neighbors', but I could only ever catch a glimpse of him flying: bigger than a robin, white rump, yellow under the wings. He called today while digging for bugs in the grass, and I located him and got to see his long beak. Heard him again this afternoon when I was in the house, and I ran to the window. He was close enough for me to see his markings, so I was able to positively identify him as a flicker, and also got to take this fun video of him!
8:30 pm sit
Sat beside our little forest this evening, feeling like I should be there rather than up in the tree. Crickets and loud bass from neighbors' music were the prominent sounds. Chattering of thoughts in my head. Green green everywhere outside of myself. Blackberry bushes waist-deep in the pine forest, mosquitoes searching for a landing spot on my long-sleeved body.
Felt tonight like I just needed to show up in the woods, like I just had to be there so my head could be counted for attendance. It was a very passive experience, standing there like that. Not like I was doing it just so I could say I'd done my sit for the day, but like I was doing it because the universe needed me there, then. Like I was being part of a backdrop to someone else's life for a spell.
No comments:
Post a Comment