Wisconsin Ornithology: Northern Flicker Letterbox Hybrid

This cache has been archived.

Wis Kid: As there has been no owner action in the last 30 days, I am regrettably forced to archive this listing.

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Hidden : 5/2/2013
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


Wisconsin Ornithology

This series highlights several of my favorite birds, all of which can be found in Wisconsin. I have found all of the birds included in the series (with one exception). Each cache is somehow related to the highlighted bird. In many cases you will find hints to finding the cache in the information provided about each bird. Each cache is hidden in roughly the environment the bird can be found. None of the caches are hidden in a nesting box or a fake nest (with one exception of a very non-standard nest), so if you find a nest or nesting box—please leave it alone it has nothing to do with the cache.



Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)


There are two distinct subspecies of Northern Flickers, the Yellow Shafted and Red Shafted Flickers. Formally these subspecies were considered as separate species, but most Ornithologists now class them together as just one specie. However, considerable debate remains. This debate illustrates the difficulty in establishing well defined distinctions between related species. The Red Shafted Flicker is only found in the North American west and the Yellow Shafted Flicker is only found in North American East and some Caribbean Islands. While the Red and Yellow Shafted Flickers initially appear similar, they can easily be told apart. Since they occur in separate regions and have distinct markings, the two were considered separate species. However, where their two ranges overlap they readily inter-bred. It seems that Ornithologists are following the lead of the birds themselves--if the birds don’t see a difference, the Ornithologists will not create one. Since the Yellow Shafted Flicker is the subspecies found in Wisconsin I will refer to just the Yellow Shafted Flicker.

As a young boy learning to identify birds, the Yellow Shafted Flicker at first seemed a mystery. Since the most prominent feature of this brown woodpecker with black spots was a red patch on the back of the head and no apparent yellow markings, how did this bird get the name Yellow Shafted Flicker? This mystery was not solved until I happened to see the bird fly. The shafts of the underside feathers are indeed yellow. The bird does also have some bright yellow feathers on the underside of the tail, however, these feathers are not easy for the casual observer to spot.

While the Yellow Shafted Flicker is a woodpecker, it has a number characteristics that are uncommon for woodpeckers. First, unlike most woodpeckers which remain in the same generally area year round, the Flicker will migrate. Second, you are more likely to see this woodpecker on the ground than pecking on a tree. The Flicker is the only North American woodpecker to commonly feed on the ground. While the Flicker will search out insects living on tree trunks, its favorite food is ants. You can commonly see the Flicker searching out ants on the lawns of suburban homes. The Flicker uses its long tongue, which can reach two inches beyond its beak, to catch and lick up ants below ground. The Flicker especially likes to attack ant nests with its long sharp beak to get access to the larvae, which are a special favorite. While the ant is the favorite food of the Flickers, it will also eat a wide variety of insects. In the winter it will also eat berries and seeds--the berries of poison ivy and oak are especially favored.

While the Flicker is one of the most common woodpeckers, for reasons not fully understood its numbers are plummeting. Numbers from the annual Christmas bird count suggests that the population of Northern Flickers has decline by about a third since the early sixties.


The Cache is not at the Posted Coordinates

However, at the posted coordinates, if you think like a Flicker you will see a marked trail (think series of markers, not a path) that will lead you to the cache after a very short walk.
There is an unregistered travel bug for the first to find.
Please do not take the stamp.
You will need to bring your own ink pad if you wish to use the rubber stamp.


This cache is located in Prairie Moraine County Park. Permit for placement has been approved by the Dane County Parks Department. A copy of the permit maybe obtained by emailing me at the above link.
(click to visit our website)

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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