How to Attract Northern Flickers to Your Yard
Northern flickers are big brown woodpeckers with black spots, a black bib, and a flash of yellow (in the East) or red-orange (in the West) under the wings. Unlike most woodpeckers, they spend a lot of time on the ground hunting ants.
What flickers eat
Ants and beetle larvae make up most of a flicker's diet, which is why you'll see them probing lawns. At feeders, they eat suet, peanuts, and sunflower hearts.
High-fat suet cakes that fit standard suet cages. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees rely on fat like this to get through cold nights.
Check price on Amazon for C&S High Energy Suet Cakes (12-pack) (opens Amazon)Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees happily hang upside down to eat. Starlings and grackles mostly don't, so the suet goes to the birds you want.
Check price on Amazon for Birds Choice Upside-Down Suet Feeder (opens Amazon)Keep some lawn and leave the ants
An open lawn or a patch of bare ground with ant hills is a flicker magnet. Avoid lawn insecticides, which remove their main food.
Leave dead trees
Flickers nest in holes in dead or dying trees. Where it's safe, leave a dead trunk standing. They'll also use a large nest box packed with wood shavings.
Frequently asked questions
Is a northern flicker a woodpecker?
Yes, though it feeds on the ground more than any other North American woodpecker.
Why is a flicker drumming on my house?
Flickers drum on loud surfaces, like gutters and siding, to claim territory in spring. It usually stops once nesting starts.
Do flickers come to suet feeders?
Yes, especially in winter. A larger suet feeder with room for a tail prop works best.
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