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Profile Information

What city/state are you from?: Colorado Springs, CO

Gender: Female

Favorite Colorado Bird?: Northern Flicker

National Audubon Society member?: No

Favorite Colorado Birding Location?: My Backyard

Do you know about the Colorado Birding Trail project?: No

Age Group?: 46-55

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Patti Todovich's Videos

Coyote pups 6-2006

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Black-chinned Hummingbird VIDEO june 17 2008 031

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At 9:40am on June 18, 2008, Patti Todovich said…: I forgot to mention earlier that "our" Flickers already had produced one brood and a pair of fledglings was in our yard for about a week. It appears they had built a nest cavity in the side of our neighbor to the north's house. This is what caused us to decide to try offering them a nest box on our property.
I regret not taking photos of the Flicker family. ;(

By mid May the Flicker completely pecked open the hole of the nest box. Our excitement grew. Flickers are known to produce 2 broods per season. Everyday we watched to see what would happen next.

By Memorial Day there were no signs of the Flickers. For some reason they leave our area after their brood fledges. The day after Memorial Day I saw a pair of Starlings in the Poplar tree. We had been using a grape flavored juice to repel a large flock of Starlings the previous fall and we had a spray bottle handy in case any tried to take over the Flicker nest box. Before long the Starlings were diving into cavity of the next box through the hole the Flickers had made. I tried spraying them with the grape spray with no result.

We decided to reclose the opening with a wooden tray from a cigar box. We put glue on the tray and sealed the hole. Within an hour the Starlings left.

We recently drilled a small opening in the Flicker nest box so that whenever the Flickers return they will feel welcome to resume their drilling. We plan on putting up a Flicker Roost Box near the Nest Box so they have a place to stay warm in the Fall- Winter months. They return in the Fall.

Our son's house is in the downtown area of Colorado Springs. Across the street from him is a grove of Ponderosa and other large pine trees. There are lots of Flickers there and they stay year-round. I saw several just last week when I visited him. I do not know why "our" Flickers leave after their brood fledges only to return in the fall. Or why "our son's" Flickers stay in the same area year-round.

The Starling pair returned on June 16.( I assume it is the same pair) but without any young. I photographed them on June 17 enjoying a bath at the watering station on the pole in the middle of the backyard.

At 10:16pm on May 4, 2008, Patti Todovich said…: We recently placed a large cedar nest box designed for the Northern Flicker approximately 10 feet up on the trunk of a slowing dying poplar tree in our backyard. I glued some wooden ice cream tasting spoons over the hole of the nest box. Immediately after we hung the box a pair of Nuthatches were all over it; but due to the obstructions over the hole they could not take possession. ( They have nested elsewhere nearby). About 3 days after this a Flicker began pecking at the spoons. It arrives each morning to work at opening the hole. After 2 weeks the Flicker has almost completely reopened the hole; very little remains of the two wooden spoons. It will be interesting to see if the Flickers choose to nest.