A great spotted woodpecker comes to surprise me!

A great spotted woodpecker comes to surprise me!

Out of the car to scan the horizon and the sky, waiting for the eagles.

I sharpen my eyesight to find even the slightest movement, even a very distant dot; but everything stays still.

And in total silence, my hearing expands as well, receptor of every little noise, movement, and rustle. And then I begin to perceive the chirping of tits in the distance, which is answered by a distant crow from the hill behind me.

Then a sharp, loud, close “kik”. After years in Nature, I can now recognise many animal sounds, and this can only be a great spotted woodpecker.

I lift my head and peer through the bare, dark branches against the grey sky, to notice even the slightest movement. Then a new sound catches my eye, and then the tele-zoom.

A few shots despite the poor light, a few fleeting glances that we exchange and then the woodpecker disappears precisely as it arrived.

In the silence.

(PS: Here, you can admire the great spotted woodpecker in a short video shot some time ago.)