Colaptes auratus
Northern Flicker
The ground-feeding woodpecker that shows up when the ants freeze.
A big, buffy, polka-dotted woodpecker that spends summer eating ants off the ground — then discovers suet the moment frost locks the lawn. Flickers come in two forms that famously meet on the plains: yellow-shafted in the East, red-shafted in the West.
Range
Nearly the entire continent. Year-round through most of the US; northern-tier and mountain breeders drift south for winter, boosting southern feeder numbers October through March.
Seasonal habits
The most seasonal of the suet regulars: scarce at feeders in summer (the lawn feeds them), increasingly common from the first frosts, and a fixture in deep winter — especially during snow cover, when ground feeding is impossible.
How to identify one
- Big and brown with black spots, a black chest crescent, and a white rump flash in flight
- Underwings flash yellow (East) or salmon-red (West)
- Male has a black (East) or red (West) mustache stripe; loud 'klee-yer!' call
At the suet feeder
Flickers are awkward on small cages — a tail-prop feeder or a cake smeared into bark suits them better. They also take dried mealworms and cracked corn on platform feeders when snow covers the ground.
Feeding one this winter? Homemade cakes beat store-bought — one part fat, one part peanut butter, three parts dry.
Suet cake recipe calculatorWhere to find the Northern Flicker
| State | Status | Start suet by |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Arizona | Year-round resident | November 15 in the deserts, October 1 above the Rim |
| Arkansas | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| California | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Colorado | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Connecticut | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Delaware | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Florida | Year-round resident | December 1 in north Florida |
| Georgia | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Idaho | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Illinois | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Indiana | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Iowa | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Kansas | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Kentucky | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Louisiana | Year-round resident | November 15 |
| Maine | Spring–summer breeder | September 15 |
| Maryland | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Massachusetts | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Michigan | Year-round resident | September 15 in the U.P., October 1 downstate |
| Minnesota | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Mississippi | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Missouri | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Montana | Spring–summer breeder | September 1 |
| Nebraska | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Nevada | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| New Hampshire | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| New Jersey | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| New Mexico | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| New York | Year-round resident | September 15 upstate, October 1 downstate |
| North Carolina | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| North Dakota | Spring–summer breeder | September 1 |
| Ohio | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Oklahoma | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Oregon | Year-round resident | October 1 for the winter ramp-up |
| Pennsylvania | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Rhode Island | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| South Carolina | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| South Dakota | Spring–summer breeder | September 15 |
| Tennessee | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Texas | Winter visitor | November 15 in the north and Hill Country |
| Utah | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Vermont | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Virginia | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Washington | Year-round resident | October 1 for the winter ramp-up |
| West Virginia | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Wisconsin | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Wyoming | Year-round resident | September 1 |
FeederDates › Suet › Species › Northern Flicker