Four Ten

Four Ten probably has little or no meaning outside my family, but inside it recalls my sister's birth date. As to birth dates, I've been recently sidelined by a visit to my new granddaughter and her 15-month-old brother.  They missed the difference between their mother (my daughter, eldest) and uncle (my son, youngest) by three days.  While this means little to most readers, it does tend to amplify familial patterns.

I will not burden you with endless pictures of the progeny.  Instead, I will regale you with pictures from today, wherein Northern (aka Yellow Shafted) flickers were engaging in mating rituals.  Or, more accurately, the shots I managed to capture while attempting to photograph said rituals.

Actually, of the several hundred I have gone through so far, these two rise to the surface.

 
Two very similar photographs with subtle distinctions that make the second one, in my opinion, superior.  It all has to do with the angle of the head.

I had invested an hour sitting patiently as the female edged her way ever so slowly toward my position when a pair of dog walkers and their charges came by.  After that, it was all over.  The birds were gone.  Thank you, dog walkers. |-(

I still have another 300 shots to filter through, so there may be more.  I am disappointed that I couldn't get the males to come close enough, but that is their wont.  I will also look for shots of the female that better illustrate the red "Vee" on the back of the neck.  Males have a more elaborate Vee, as well as black shafts on the cheeks.