A flicker of interest

I didn't really have a chance to go out and about in search of things to photograph today, and I had a few things I wanted to get done at home this evening. So I decided to stake out the little stretch of woods next to my apartment complex for a bit and hope for the best.

As I slowly walked along the chain-link fence separating the lawn from the forest, a noise and hint of movement along the ground caught my attention. After a moment or two I spotted this chipmunk, who appeared to be enjoying a bit of dinner:



Talk about chipmunk cheeks...



I could also see some sort of bird moving around in the undergrowth several feet away. Thinking it might be a Catbird, I waited to see if it would come close enough for me to get a decent look at it. It did, and it turned out to be not a Catbird but a Northern Flicker—making for yet another first for my blog:



Even though it's fairly blurry, I included this photo for its look at the white portion of its tail—as you can see, it's really only visible when the flicker's wings are extended:



However, I did still manage to get a Catbird shot as well: