The Norrhern Flicker is a beautiful bird whose wicka-wicka-wicka is heard throughout Yosemite Valley and Yosemite West in the mating season. We had one of these large woodpeckers pounding on our house every morning at 5am for a while. The damage they do is amazing, but he would never sit still long enough for a photo that one. Just long enough to turn us into sleep-deprived zombies, as opposed to the well-rested zombies we normally are.

The "Red Shafted Flicker" is the West coast version of Colaptes auratus.