Great Spotted Woodpecker, Russia

While taking a walk in the woods a few days ago, my attention was attracted by a continuous, high-pitched and insistent squeak coming from a small hollow in the trunk of an aspen tree near the path. A little away I began to watch the hole, and a few minutes later the woodpecker flew in, quickly put his head in the hole and flew away again. The next day I took a camera with a telephoto lens, hoping to photograph the bird and the feeding process, but I did not wait - the mosquitoes overcame me. Then it rained for two days, and today the sun finally came out and I went back to the hollow.

It seems that the chick has grown considerably in three days, since its voice was no longer continuous and was not as high-pitched as it was three days ago. A few minutes later, he leaned out of the hole, showing a yellow head with a red cap.

Soon the parent arrived, perched on the branch of a nearby tree.

Then he moved to the trunk of a dead aspen tree and began to get food for his offspring.

A few minutes later, the parent appeared among the tangle of branches. You can distinguish male and female mottled woodpecker by the red stripe on the back of the head, the female does not have it. In both sexes the top of the head is red.

The male, having obtained the larvae, did not hurry to carry them to the hollow, but sat down on a branch of a neighboring tree. The female at this time was making sounds that probably indicated alarm, so the chick in the hollow was silent.

The male with a full beak changed his position several times, not daring to fly to the nest, because I was standing about ten meters away, trying not to move, but the mosquitoes were so annoying that I had to periodically wave my hand.

Finally, a female dared to fly up to the hollow, but, after turning her head, made a short sound and flew away. The chick sat still. It must have been intelligence.

After that, dad sat down on the trunk next to the hole, and the food instantly moved from beak to beak.