5 Oct 2008 @ 11:04, by Jose Overalles

I've been hearing a Yellow Shafted Flicker most mornings around 6 AM when I go outside for a smoke.

I've only sighted this bird twice before, once on the seacoast and once in the inner city when I lived by the railroad tracks, maybe ten years ago.

With the Yellow Shafted Flicker, I've always heard him first before I saw him. He has a very distinctive voice.

I'd like to site this one, but I have a problem. Being totally deaf in one ear, it's hard to tell from what direction a sound is coming from. I'm also worried about what the neighbors would think of me wandering around a city neighborhood peering through binoculars in the wee morning hours.

I've also been seeing a trio of Goldfinches around here during mid day. They're easy to spot because of the bright yellow color and the way that they fly like they're on a roller coaster. Just like Woodstock in the comic strip Peanuts.

The goldfinch is also a rare sighting for this city. I used to see them alot up on the Maine coast.

They have a distinctive voice

also.

Bird pics from the Cornell University Ornithology site links above.