Fearless Foz:
Click photo to enlarge in new tab.
March 2018: For the uninitiated, a PIWO is a PIleated WOodpecker, the largest of the seven species of woodpeckers we see up here most frequently. They’re colourful and industrious and often very willing to be observed and photographed — especially if they’re committed to an excavation!
On Friday, March 9, I was heading home after a walk around my beat. I’d enjoyed a lovely variety of birds, and thanks to a tip from a neighbour, had been able to check out a Bald Eagle that may be returning an old nest above Mission Creek. Although I was unable to get decent photos of it due to the thick branches in the way, I was glad to see him again.
As I approached Gordon Bridge where I would normally head south along the Road back to our condo, I ran into a fellow birder who asked if I had seen the PIWO on the other side of the bridge. It was working down low, she told me.
We parted, and I took a look, but made my search more difficult than it needed to be and would have missed the bird had I not run into to my colleague again not the bridge after I had given up. She just pointed down to the bird at work, and I was on my way….
What follows describes the process of trying to get the shot that you see above — especially when, at first, it seems nearly impossible. Let me give you a hint: success requires effort on the fotog’s part and considerable cooperation from the bird!
One never knows for sure whether a bird will stay put or immediately flee. The second option is the more likely to occur most of the time. Fortunately, this particular PIWO is accustomed to people poking into his private affairs; my task was actually pretty easy. But one only knows this when the encounter is over!
The name, Fearless Foz came to me from a remark my birder friend made about our bird of the day: “He likes people,” she said. “He’s fearless!” And so Fearless he became.
Fearless Fosdick came to mind — a flashback from my days reading comics as a kid. You may remember Al Capp’s syndicated cartoon strip, Li’l Abner, which had as a cartoon within the cartoon, a Dick Tracy parody cop called Fearless Fosdick. More on him at the end of this post….
Well the trick was simply to get closer than he was comfortable with in the moment, see if he would withdraw to a more favourable location, take a shot, then back off and let him get back to work. All of this assumed, of course, that he wouldn’t simply back off and fly away! Having worked with him 14+ months ago, I bet on his staying focused….
Click any of the images below to enlarge the whole cluster.
In the sequence above, you can see, how after retreating at first to the other side of the tree, he peeks back around again, and slowly finds his way back to the excavation….
At this point, I decided I to allow him to get back to his cavity work as I attempted to photograph him at work. This required my moving down the slope, around one large tree, through some saplings, and then resting against another tree, which, had it not been there, would have meant my tumbling all the way down into the creek!
Of course, all my movement meant we had a little more negotiation to complete
before we were both where we wanted to be. I took advantage, continuing
to shoot even as I edged myself into place. He backed off briefly, then, once I was settled, resumed his business, which he continued to work at until I left. Elapsed time for the entire encounter: 12 minutes.
Click any image in the cluster below to open them all in a new tab.
As you can see above, I was able to persuade him to move a bit from time to time
so we could inspect his work. He was most obliging!
And so we concluded with one parting profile shot on the trunk of the tree.
Then it back to work for him and homeward bound for me.
Oh yeah! Almost forgot my promise to show you Fearless Fosdick the first!
birds & musings 
fantastic post and beautiful photographs of the gorgeous pileated woodpecker
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Thanks so much, Mel, for taking time to comment. I think you’re the only one who reads this blog!!
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My Flickr friend Sue from Langley wrote : “I checked out the blog Keith, what a fantastic series of images and I so enjoy hearing the reminiscences of other birding photographers. I have actually checked out the blog a couple of times before as well. Just not up to joining/opening another account with another password and more things linking to my email to be able comment there. Wanted to let you know there may be more people than you think reading it, most enjoyable.”
To which I replied: “Thanks for this, Sue. As always, I appreciate your putting things into perspective. I completely understand your point of view. I read blogs, too, that I can’t or don’t wish to comment on for various reasons. You’re very kind! And I really value our Flickr connection!”
If, like Sue, you’re wary of commenting, I understand, and appreciate your visits anyway. I can see, through stats available to me, only how many visitors have stopped by and what country they’re from. Your privacy is fully protected!
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