Northern flickers are big ant eaters. Be sure to hang your feeder in such a way it doesn’t spin or rotate. I flushed the bird off, when I walked towards it (I was bad!!!!!). Northern Flickers are another delightful woodpecker to get in your yard. They eat mostly ants and other insects but also feeds on beetles, termites, caterpillars, and other insects. But during the winter, put up the suet cakes, because the northern flickers will just devour them. I don’t know why I didn’t see them before, but now I see them everywhere. This bird is the only Woodpecker to be ground-feeding as it takes grubs and insects from fallen logs and trees. The Northern Flicker also known as the Common Flicker, is a member of the Woodpecker family and is native to most of North America, including here in southern Ontario. I am making an effort to get to know them, starting with the ones that visit my yard. Diet: Flickers spend time on the ground searching for ants to eat. They can be found in almost any habitat with trees foraging by hopping on the ground, climbing tree trunks and limbs, and occasionally flying out to catch insects in the air. I would like to know their names, where they came from, what they eat, and the things they do for us that we probably don’t realize. View our northern flicker feeders above for more detailed descriptions of what we offer in regards to suet feeders. Added Note: Northern Flickers will come back to the same spot year after year to do their drumming to attract a mate as it worked for them before so why not try it again right? My Backyard Birds: Northern Flicker For reasons unknown, this year I am really noticing birds. At Wild Bird and Garden we have foods that northern flickers love like our Woodpecker Favorite seed mix with peanuts, suet, dried fruit, and sunflower hearts. Snow, sleet and bitterly cold temperatures are no match for woodpeckers. They will feed at tube, tray, ranch-style, and suet feeders. Like all woodpeckers, they tend to drum against wood. If your backyard has a mixture of trees and open ground, or if it’s near woods, you may find Northern Flickers simply by walking around the wooded edges.
The 4 Best Foods for Woodpeckers Attract more woodpeckers to your backyard with a winning menu. Like all woodpeckers, they tend to drum against wood. Northern flickers will also eat black oil sunflower seeds from a traditional feeder but will prefer the suet. Downy woodpecker at a suet feeder by Critter Lee. The flicker will feed at your feeder almost instantaneously if it feels safe and secure there. Northern Flickers don’t habitually visit bird feeders, but you can find them in backyards and at bird baths. How they sound: Northern Flickers make a loud, rolling rattle with a piercing tone that rises and falls in volume several times. My husband and I have found this to be very true from our own personal experience.
I felt guilty when one time I was walking on a sidewalk, and a northern flicker came down to eat ants coming out of a crack in the side walk. They also eat peanuts, seeds, and fruit.