Whilst walking in our local cemetery, I came across a black woodpeckers’ nest. Its head was poking out, as if on lookout.
The nest itself was a deep hole inside a large older Beech tree I think… the entrance hole stood roughly 16 foot maybe higher off the ground.
It was the first time I’ve ever seen a black woodpecker and luckily I had my camera and proceeded to photograph it, in my excitement I crept closer and closer, in that moment all I cared about was trying to get a good photograph to post online.
I neglected to think about the bird itself and the fact it was spring and possibly sitting on a clutch off eggs or with its young. As I moved closer, I must have tripped or moved in an irregular way and disturbed the woodpecker away from its nest. As it happened I heard the noise of chicks calling from the nest as the woodpecker flew into the distance.
As I watched the woodpecker disappear, it occurred to me what I had possibly done, a wave of guilt washed over me. In the pursuit of a photograph I had disturbed a nesting bird with the very real possibility of the chicks being abandoned.
I waited awhile, hanging back, anticipating the woodpecker’s return, but nothing. That evening I sat at my computer and researched black woodpeckers to see if I could find any information about their habits that would put my mind at rest. I found out a little bit about its nesting behaviour and that the species was well distributed through out Scandinavia.
I found out that in the past a black woodpecker could be a sign of bad luck and impending doom.
The next day I went back early to try and catch a glimpse, but nothing. I decided that I would go back everyday for a week. Each morning I cycled back to the cemetery and waited from a distance to see if the woodpecker returned to feed its young.
Bird photography is a lot like hunting or collecting, it’s a taxonomy (see Carl Linnaeus) not only to make sense of the world but to measure it, whether for personal achievement or scientific research. There is no right or wrong here, in fact bird watching and bird photography are moments of recording and image capture which create archival data.
The whole experience made me feel that I know so little about my environment. As I leave my computer screen and go outside to photograph new birds and in turn meet new people, I start to respect my surroundings more, and I think that is this the point.
It’s not about who sees the first or rarest bird, or gets the best image. It’s about gaining understanding and respect for nature which is changing and disappearing rapidly.
Speaking of which, as I stand navel-gazing thinking about how I can squeeze all this into a facebook post, I see a flash of black! A wave of relief…. it’s back!!!