My dad had signed us up for a nature hike led by a bossy guy in a ranger outfit.
I was ten, and looking for arrowheads. But I noticed an interesting bird in the underbrush.
It flew to a tall tree ahead of us on the trail. There was white on its back, a red dot on its head. And gold flashes under its wings.
I thought I might know what it was. We’d been studying birds in school that year.
I said to our guide, “What bird has yellow wings?”
This annoyed him. I was a punk looking for arrowheads. He sighed, “No bird.” And resumed lecturing to the adults.
I said, “What if it’s under the wings.”
“Son, no bird has yellow under the wings.”
Under my breath, I said to my dad, “Flicker.”
My dad, who would later tease me for life because I once identified a titmouse, looked at me, eyebrows raised.
He said, “What’d you call that guy?”
Eventually, we neared the tall tree. As the bird moved, yellow feathers under its wings became obvious.
Our guide noticed. He stopped the group and pointed, “Okay, everybody, up here we have something interesting…” As though he’d discovered it.
“Flicker,” I whispered to my dad again.
My dad gave me a look.
“Yellow-shafted,” I added.
~
This true story about a father-son hike appeared here a while back. We figure it’s worth another look because a Flicker is always fun. But, especially, because today is Father’s Day.
Glad you reprinted this piece on Father’s Day. The flicker is my favorite bird. A woodpecker that spends a lot of time on the ground eating ants and doesn’t have the typical woodpecker field markings.