Northern Flicker, two red-shafted females and a male
Newsflash! - this a partial retraction of the description for the first image. After posting these shots, I later discovered one more had been made after the airborne combatants had departed. It shows the original bird, still on the pole, but now with its head turned . . . to reveal a bright red malar: it's a boy! We apparently had a couple of girls fighting over a guy, and so my initial "mating behaviour" supposition may be correct after all.
Northern Flicker, two red-shafted females and a male
Newsflash! - this a partial retraction of the description for the first image. After posting these shots, I later discovered one more had been made after the airborne combatants had departed. It shows the original bird, still on the pole, but now with its head turned . . . to reveal a bright red malar: it's a boy! We apparently had a couple of girls fighting over a guy, and so my initial "mating behaviour" supposition may be correct after all.