A young, male Northern Flicker, as photographed by Ruth Alexander.

This is the time of year we see fledglings, chicks who have left their nest. Ruth Alexander photographed several Northern Flickers recently, one even perched on her window sill, looking in the window. We think this photo shows a juvenile  male.

Here is a photo by Paul Brewer of an adult, which has red on its cheeks rather than the light color in Ruth's photo.

If you look closely at a flicker's chest feathers, they look like little hearts.

Thanks to Ruth and Paul for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/