The drill of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker

This weekend’s visit to Medina River Natural Area was chilly and partly cloudy in the upper 50s.

The first bird I captured was near the start of the trail. A Carolina Wren loudly sang from a bush only feet away.

Today’s magical moment

Today’s magical moment arrived with a loud tap, tap, tap, tap.

The moment I heard the noise, I looked straight up at it. That unmistakable drilling sound permeated the air as it jammed its beaks into a tree trunk. Three Ladder-backed Woodpeckers were fluttering through the trees and, at one point, perched right in front of me.

This clip was recorded right at the beginning of the encounter. The bird can be heard drilling for a while then it vocalizes loudly.

I only captured six recordings while out today, but I felt like I made them count. I’m picky when it comes to what I choose to upload and I got two keepers from the bunch. Some days I’ll end up with 20 or more clips but a much lower “keep” rate.

It’s nature’s RNG!

jeff with shotgun microphone
Birds are about to be spied on.

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