North Coast of Whidbey...And an old friend

Hastie Lake Road Beach

Temperate rainforests of Deception
Pass State Park

Red-shafted Northern Flicker. This bird is a female, identified 
by the lack of a red moustachial stripe.

After traveling to the northern part of the island to visit several volunteers in the region, I was able to make a stop at Deception Pass State Park (Washington's "favorite state park") for a quick hike into a beautiful old growth rainforest. Characterized by a high amount of rainfall and moderate temperatures in both the summer and winter months, this area of North America boasts the largest temperate rain forest ecoregion in the world.While in the area, I made a few stops at COASST beaches in the region, including the striking Hastie Lake beach. To my delight, I found a familiar friend on the bluffs of the beach, the Northern Flicker.Unlike the yellow-shafted race I often see in my backyard in South Carolina, I ran into three red-shafted beauties along the shore.  Brown nape, gray face, and the lack of a red crescent confirm this is a red-shafted specimen. Not what I expected to find on the beach, but a delightful encounter none-the-less!