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The black woodpecker is the largest among woodpeckers occurring in our country. It has a body weight of about a quarter of a kilogram, and a wingspan that doesn’t exceed 70 centimeters. Unfortunately it is very skittish and hence difficult to photograph. The images I took are more the result of a coincidence, than the effect of waiting in a place of its expected occurrence. If you move calmly and quite noiselessly through the forest, you can sometimes see it, especially that its plumage and size make it quite noticeable. Quite large, almost completely black with a bright red „cap” it is easy to see. In feeding sites it is absorbed with food to such an extent that if you don’t make sudden moves, it will let you photograph it for a while. Unfortunately, once it feels our presence, it will surely fly away.
Last minute news 08/2013
As it usually happens in nature photography, you lie in wait for some species, but completely different animals appear in front of your lenses and allow you to photograph them. This time, without much camouflage, beavers were to be my photography target. They had been seen in that beautiful place several times, they would even ignore human presence, playing around jauntily. So without much thought (Andrzej, thank you for the information) the next day in the afternoon I sat down in wait. In the meantime Eurasian Nuthatches let me photograph them. In the neighborhood there were three Black Woodpeckers flying around and behaving quite noisily. It’s a pity that the hide was not well put up, but it was only a kind of partition from the beavers’ side. So I must go back there, put up a hide earlier, and I will have a chance to take anatomical pictures of the Black Woodpecker. Without effort I managed to record their sounds. Sadly the photos were taken in poor, evening light. It’s a shame to speak about the exposure sensitivity settings. But well, it was already 7 p.m. and in that dense forest, in the face of “beaverlessness” I captured some Black Woodpeckers, which were active there.
Last minutenews - 02/2015
I added a few pictures, I think the most interesting so far.
Last minute news – 05/2018 - Andora
In an interlude between photographing western capercaillie I used an opportunity to take photos of the black woodpecker. The bird belongs to quite difficult species and I had had only three chances to photograph it before. The fourth attempt, in Andorra, was apparently the most interesting one. My best and most interesting pictures of this bird were taken and the gallery has been remodeled.
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