A few days ago, I hiked one of my local prairie meadows as the sun rose over the horizon. It was a cool morning, but one that promised to have a significant warmup during the day. There was not a lot of activity … except for the Northern Flickers (Calaptes auratus), which seemed to gather in “swarms”. Here are a few images I captured of their activity:
The flickers in our area are the “Yellow-shafted” variety (as compared to the “Red-shafted” variety). The “Yellow-shafted” flickers have a red patch on the nape, a gray crown, and yellow undertail and underwings, while the “Red-shafted” flickers lack the red patch on the nape, has a brown crown and reddish undertail and underwings.
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 100mm-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens, with Canon 1.4x TC, shot at 560mm
- Handheld, with IS “On”
- ISO 1600
- Aperture f/8
- Shutter 1/60 sec. to 1/400 sec.