Finding a Nest

 

On yesterday's ride in the foothills of Pole Creek Mountain, our first clue was the wood chips on the ground beneath a dead aspen snag.  Had someone been using a chain saw out here, at least a mile off any beaten path?

Then we saw a cavity in the tree.

A head poked out

and a bird few away.

We rigged up a makeshift ladder,

and Steve used his compass mirror and a light to look inside.  The dug out chamber was more than a foot deep, and dark as a cave. 

And then he set the camera on manual, adjusted the F-stop to 8, the shutter speed to 1000th of a second, and tucked the camera into the hole for a flash shot.

Yes, there were eggs!  7 of them.  *

As soon as we moved away from the tree, Mr. Red-Shafted Flicker was back.  He had eggs to tend until Mrs. Flicker arrived for her shift.
*The cavity nest is built by both male and female and takes 1-2 weeks to build.  The male does most of the excavating, but the female prefers to do the detailing work herself.  (Gee, that sounds a lot like how projects go at our house!) They prefer to build their own nest, but will sometimes refurbish and re-use an abandoned nest.