Morning sun

  

Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) and a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) enjoying the morning sun in Santa Rosa today (6 January 2026).  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Winter berries

A couple of days ago, a large flock of robins and waxwings found a tree full of berries in our yard: 

 

Male American Robin (Turdus migratorius) — note the dark feathers on the head, and compare them to the female's paler head feathers (below):

 

 

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) — I liked how the yellow band at the tip of the tail blended in with the leaves. 

The activity also attracted another visitor that was interested in the berries:

 

Female Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — females lack a red stripe on the face (while males have a red stripe).

What's for dinner?

 

This afternoon, I was watching this Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) eat fruit from a shrub at Crane Creek Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

I was intrigued because I couldn't remember if I had seen flickers feeding on fruit before.  They're primarily ant-eaters. 

Can you tell what type of fruit this flicker was feeding on?

Warning: The next picture will give away the answer.

Okay, here we go.  He was feeding on...

 

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)!  Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised.  But if you react to Poison Oak like I do, then you wonder how anything can get that close to it, never mind eat it!