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For the most part, the woodpeckers found around Miramichi will stay all year and spend basically all of their time clinging to trees and pecking at trunks for insects. There is, however, one that is a little different from all the rest and that is the Northern Flicker.

The Flicker has over 100 common names, such as: heigh-ho, harry-wicket, gawker bird, yarrup, wick-up, and walk up. Most of these names are attributed to their vocal calls. Two more commonly used names are the Yellow-shafted Flicker in eastern and northern areas, and the Red-shafted Flicker in western areas. These names are referring to the colour found on the underside of its wings and tail.

The first time I saw a Northern Flicker was about five years ago. I actually heard it first. I had my bedroom window open and heard this loud woika-woika-woika call. I looked out the window to find out that what ever it was, was sitting on the roof directly above my window and I couldn't see it. So, I had to wait patiently and hope that it would fly in the direction I needed it to. And it did.

What I saw was a medium-sized bird with a brown back barred with black, a black bib on its chest, whitish underparts spotted with black, a grey crown with a red crescent stripe on its nape, a buff face, and yellow on the underside of its wings and tail. The bird that flew from my roof, which I learned was a male, also had a black moustache (mark on check) and he met up with a female, which did not have this marking.

I then watched as the two birds travelled along the ground probing for insects, which then made me really surprised when I found out they were woodpeckers. The Northern Flicker is the only woodpecker that spends most of its time on the ground looking for insects, even though it can peck insects from trees. Ants make up 45 per cent of their diet. They also eat seeds, nuts, berries, and will catch some insects in flight.

Not only do they eat ants but they also use ants for the formic acid that is found in their body. A Flicker will catch an ant and tear it apart. It will then preen itself with the ant. The formic acid kills any parasites that are found on the flicker's skin or feathers. Also, as part of their beauty regime, the Northern Flicker will bathe itself in dusty depressions. The dirt will absorb bacteria and oils from its feathers that if not removed could be harmful.

The Flicker has two calls, a rapid, loud, laughing call of kick-kick-kick-kick-kick-kick-kick and its courtship call of woika-woika-woika, which I heard the first time I saw it.

Both members of the pair will excavate a tree cavity in a dead or dying deciduous tree. The excavation takes the pair about two weeks to complete. The nest is not lined with materials like grass or leaves but will have some woodchips from the cavity excavation scattered along the bottom. Flickers will often reuse their nest for few years.

The female will lay five to eight white eggs that will be incubated by both partners with the male completing more than half of the incubation. After 11 to 16 days the young will hatch. The young will be fed by both parents for the next 25 to 28 days.

The Northern Flicker is one of the only woodpecker species in New Brunswick to migrate south during the winter. It leaves in about October and will return the following April. It migrates simply because its primary food of ants is not available in wintertime.