Merritt Island abounds with Northern Flickers

Northern Flickers are members of the woodpecker family who spend the whole year in Central Florida. Still, I rarely see them unless I am at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

On a Sunday morning in early November, I came across more of these colorful woodpeckers than ever before. I saw them along the Black Point Wildlife Drive and the Scrub Ridge Trail.

The males have a little black moustache but both sexes have bright yellow under-wing colors that make them easy to spot if they’re flying around.

Of course, they weren’t the only birds I came across during my Sunday morning visit. Though Black Point was pretty quiet, there were a lot of little birds on the Scrub Ridge Trail – including a cousin of the Flickers.