Monday, May 13, 2019

Deepest Apologies to my Forest Flicker Friend! The 19th Century Cackler!

The Flicker returned last night. At first I wondered what that ominous cackling was in the middle of the night - that sounds like a Hollywood depiction of "Dark Africa" jungle sounds. Then I remembered it was the woodpecker...what was it, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker? NO that was not it. Let's see - we have Red-headed, Red-bellied. Nope. Not Downy, not Hairy,.... what does it do with its tongue?

The Licker? NO - the FLICKER!!

https://ecoechoinvasives.blogspot.com/2017/10/insane-clown-teepee-tent.html

So there should be mention of the Flicker...October 2017:

But luckily the Flicker visited me again last night - when calling literally right next to my tent! I guess it was hoping I would provide nice big juicy caterpillars like a few weeks ago!
 https://ecoechoinvasives.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-lone-wolf-howling-mangled-by.html

 A Flicker! It was hanging out in the big Tamarack tree by my tent - so I wonder if it was eyeing the caterpillars and I wonder if it can eat those type of caterpillars. I thought I heard the caterpillars drop off the tent at night and then then I heard a bird hopping around.


Northern Flickers eat mainly insects, especially ants and beetles that they gather from the ground.
 Also feeds on beetles, termites, caterpillars, and other insects. 



 Ok I didn't see the bird today or last night. It's nocturnal. But I remembered that cackling sound. Let's listen to a recording...

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/sounds

 Listen to the 2nd to last one - in Neuva Segoia, Guatemala - that's the Cackle.

WOW

1878 - ‎Current events
The flicker cackles.
When I search Flicker cackling - the ONLY hit I get is from the 19th Century! I guess that makes me an honorific Victorian!!

So now for my apology. The Flicker liked to hop around on my tipi - on the clay soil I had packed on the north side. At night it sounded like it was trying to break it!! No it was just looking for bugs and having a lot of fun on this supersized ant hill. THEN it loved to jump into my excavated drain ditch that had supplied the clay for the tipi adobe construction. But I put my petroleum tarp to cover the clay - for water proofing and to air out the tarp and I thought - cool - now the smell will scare away the rodent critters that crawl into the tipi. But I had forgotten about my Flicker Friend!!

So then I got worried that the Petroleum run-off from the tarp would kill the Flicker - but it didn't seem that smelly today. I think it will either know better or survive.

OH - Thoreau called it Cackling also!!

Egads!

"the cackle of the flicker among the oaks" was music to the soul of Thoreau. And like Thoreau all true sportsmen have an affection for this queer but beautiful bird.

Henry David Thoreau, ‎Francis H. Allen - 2019 - ‎Nature
Hear the flicker's cackle on the old aspen, and his tapping sounds afar over the water. Their tapping resounds thus far, with this peculiar ring and distinctness, ...
Was it Aspen or Oak? oh well...
1858!!
 Anyway then I wondered - do Flicker's eat tree frogs? Because not much else to eat right now. LOTS of tree frogs though!

The flicker eats more ants than any other bird; ants were found in 524 of the ...
Well I'm glad for the Tree Frogs - since that Flicker would be feasting.

So I heard a mysterious bird that has what I call a "double note glissando" going up an octave. I'm still trying to find out what bird this is. I tried making a recording but they I got "playback error." So I'll see if I can fix the digital recorder. That error happened last time also. I need to investigate.

Also I plan on building a Lime-adobe-horse manure Chinese Kang Bed-stove heater (Hut) as another winterized structure. I bought 200 pounds of Lime but it's BARN LIME meaning not for construction (not hydrated lime or quick lime). Anyway I guess if I add just a little bit of portland cement then I'm good to go - like 2% portland cement and maybe 10% lime and then 10% horse manure and the rest as Clay, 78%.  https://elixirfield.blogspot.com/2019/04/kang-bed-stove-heater-and-tlud-stoves.html

that's just my guess for now. And then I'll cut more willow for a wattle/daub. Or use the old railroad ties that are super heavy. I don't feel like cutting down more trees to be honest nor using the rotting rail road ties that are too heavy. I'm thinking of JUST doing adobe.

But having some trees will help strengthen the frame and willow grows fast and I have TONS of willow. So it should be ok. But for the FIRST time there's a CowBird lingering in my mini-forest. This morning it was just south of the mini-forest. This has never happened - the Cowbird is a parasite - a Brood parasite. It lays its eggs in the other songbird nests. Then the baby is a bully that kicks out the songbird babies and the songbird mom instinctively feeds MORE to the big baby. So in the past 2 years I never saw a cowbird. But maybe since the Utility company cleared out the electric poles - and so that created a clearing and the Cowbird saw that as an "opening." The cowbird likes newly cleared openings to enter the "edge" of a forest.

I'm hoping the Flicker scares the Cowbird away. That's how cool Flickers are with their Cackling.


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