Throughout
the day a flicker comes to visit, seeking out the red candle blossoms of the
ocotillo cactus. It perches near the top and inspects each tiny red flower,
bell shaped and in clusters and placed just so that the flicker put its beak in
a dozen flowers in a minute’s time.
It has
the same markings as those which frequent our lawns in Paxton, though its
personality is decidedly less shy. Ours will fly low to the ground, stopping
almost furtively to search for grubs and insects in the lawn, taking flight at
the slightest disturbance. This desert relative pays no mind to my presence
below it, seeking its fare and calling below in the way of flickers, a cross
between the jay’s squawk and the grackle’s two-tone alarm.
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