Red-headed Woodpecker and Red-winged Blackbird Interaction

/

Once upon a time (last Thursday), on a Wildlife Area not TOO far away (Cheyenne Bottoms WA in Kansas), I spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker feeding while using the wooden fence posts along one of the access roads as temporary perches before launching attacks on prey.

Red-headed Woodpecker - Cheyenne Bottoms WA, Kansas - May 2021
Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 500mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

I adjusted the camera settings to optimize acquisition of images of the woodpecker in flight and watched the behavior of the bird carefully through the viewfinder looking for any indication the bird was about to fly. The appearance of a Red-winged Blackbird in the viewfinder was a complete surprise.

Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 500mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

Even more surprisng was seeing the blackbird land on the post, and then appear to “say something” to the woodpecker before it took off while the woodpecker was changing positions on the post..

Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 500mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 419mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 383mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

This behavioral sequence triggered my curiosity about interspecies communication in birds. An interesting discussion of this topic can be found using this LINK.

Olympus E-M1X with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 500mm
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 4000

This is the first frame in the burst of exposures after the blackbird flew away. It would be anthropomorphic to label this a Pictorial Definition of Relief. An enlargement of the woodpecker’s head is shown below.

/ /

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.