Forest Birds of the World - Magellanic Woodpecker

Originally posted 12/28/11 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

 

Congratulations to researcher Martjan Lammertink who won first prize in November 2011 for the category Forest Birds of the World with this photo of a juvenile male Magellanic Woodpecker that he took in Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina. The photo contest was organized by SEO/BirdLife, the branch of BirdLife International in Spain, to commemorate the International Year of Forests 2011.

The fact that the winning photos were selected from a total of 1,050 images submitted by 305 professionals from 13 countries is a testament to how attractive and charismatic Magellanic Woodpeckers are as forest ambassadors.

Find more details and the two other first prize winning photos here:

Enlace a un artículo Natural (en Español)

Link to article in Natural (in English)

Magellanic Woodpecker at Work in Patagonia

Originally posted 5/24/11 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Here's a brief, splendid video of a Magellanic Woodpecker working on a dead tree in Patagonia.  You can hear one of this bird's calls if you turn up the sound while you watch this video by robkroenert on YouTube.  Change 360p to 1080p on the video to watch it in high definition.  The high def version may take a while to load.

Magellanic Woodpecker, Glacier National Park, Argentina

Originally posted 5/20/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Magellanic Woodpecker, Glacier National Park, Argentina, originally uploaded by john_raiders.

This photo of a female Magellanic Woodpecker at Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina shows off her recurved crest very well. The photo is © john_raiders and posted here with his permission.

Division of Labour in Parental Care in the Magellanic Woodpecker

Originally posted 8/24/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Argentina 2010-03-28 11.26.42 131, originally uploaded by wizard4all.

Here's a wonderful photo of a male Magellanic Woodpecker near El Chalten, Argentina accompanied by information on a new research article in the Journal of Ornithology. The article is based upon one of the most detailed studies ever of parental care of woodpeckers in the southern hemisphere.  Here are a few highlights:

• The study involved investigating parental care of Magellanic Woodpeckers at 11 nests from dawn to dusk throughout the nesting season

• Only a single young was reared at any nest, even at nests where two hatchlings were produced.

• Feeding rates were similar between parents, but males delivered larger prey to nestlings.

Congratulations to María Laura Chazarreta, Valeria Susana Ojeda and Ana Trejo, the authors of the article.

And many thanks to wizard4all for granting permission to post his super photo here!

Magellanic Woodpeckers, Father and Son

                                                                                                     Originally posted 7/11/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Watch this video by goranlondon of a young male Magellanic Woodpecker and his father.  The adult bird works hard to extract a tasty morsel from the tree trunk for his noisy (turn up your volume!), impatient son. Ivory-billed Woodpecker enthusiasts will be interested to hear kent-like, soft "tooting" sounds emanating from the father bird, I presume, starting at 19-20 seconds into the video. It seems as if the father is saying:

"Hang on son. Hang on. I'm working on it!"

Magellanic Woodpecker: Management Strategies for Keystone Bird Species

Originally posted 5/24/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

This is a photo I took of a male Magellanic Woodpecker hard at work in old growth forest at Lago del Desierto, Argentina.

Of course, the Magellanic Woodpecker holds far more significance than the many interesting photos you may see of it.  Dr. Valeria Ojeda completed her dissertation, Nesting habitat selection and reproductive biology of Magellanic woodpeckers Campephilus magellanicus (Aves, Picidae) in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, in 2006. 

There is a related, very interesting article available online by Dr. Ojeda entitled Management strategies for keystone bird species: The Magellanic woodpecker in Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina.  Here is an excerpt from the article: 

The tolerance and charismatic nature of this species make it an ideal tool for the development of profitable alternative forest activities such as ecotourism, recreation, and biodiversity prospecting, both within and outside of protected areas. This reflects the claim of many international visitors that the Magellanic woodpecker is a flagship and probably a keystone species of the forests of southern Argentina and Chile. 

Find the full text of the article here.

It is accompanied by an excellent photo of a female Magellanic Woodpecker in flight.  And, if you'd like to see Dr. Ojeda and other woodpecker researchers in action, visit PicidPics for a fine assortment of photos.  

Nahuel Huapi National Park is certainly worth an additional mention.  Established in 1934, it is the oldest Argentine national park, in Patagonia in the foothills of the Andes mountains.  For more information about Nahuel Huapi National Park:

Visit this link (in English);

 
Or, visit this link for a more detailed description (en Español).

 

Magellanic Woodpecker - BAM-Bam!

In this segment from his 1998 series, The Life of Birds, David Attenborough summons a male Magellanic Woodpecker by mimicking it's signature double knock on a tree in Patagonia.  In addition to this clip, the BBC maintains an entire page of information on the Magellanic Woodpecker here at this link.  Notes that accompany the Intro clip on that page describe different foraging behavior of females and males when raising nestlings to strategically maximize food resources.  Males have been known to catch lizards and even the chicks of other birds!

Campephilus double knocks vary in volume and are not necessarily always loud.  But, consider the loud double knock of the Magellanic Woodpecker that occurs at 1:33 min into this clip.  The power behind that double knock is illustrative, I think, of how very loud the double knocks of its northern relative, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, could be, as often described in historical literature, given its substantially larger dimensions.  BAM-Bam!

Ivory-billed Woodpecker
- length 48-53cm/19-21in (approximate)
- 450 - 570 grams (approximate)

Magellanic Woodpecker
- length 36-38cm/14-15in
- male 312-363 grams; female 276 - 312 grams

Source for measurements

- Woodpeckers: A Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World by H. Winkler, D. A. Christie & D. Nurney

Carpintero Gigante + Happy Chinese New Year!

Originally posted 1/10/2011 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Carpintero, originally uploaded by Roberto Simonitti.

A male Magellanic Woodpecker brings an insect to a nestling in this excellent photo by Roberto Simonitti from Ushuaia, Argentina which is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. The photo is posted here with his kind permission.


And now for something entirely different:

Happy Yodel by Ho Lan - Mandala Studio Music Video

This video is off-topic.  However, it made me feel so very good this morning that I want to share it with you.  Best wishes to all by way of this Happy Chinese New Year video celebrating the Year of the Rabbit!   Musical production is by a talented friend of mine, Hsi-Ling Chang.

I love to sign a song. Yodel-lay...!

Sing and sing all day long!

Happy to be right here!

Singing throughout the year!

Trouble don't come my way, I've no place for you!!

Why don't you sing along? Yodel-lay...!

Press play, then change the setting at the lower right of the video box from 360p to 720p to watch and hear it at high definition.

Carpintero

Originally posted 9/28/2010 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Carpintero, originally uploaded by Jorge OK.

This is a male Carpintero Negro, also known as the Magellanic Woodpecker.

Thanks to Jorge Oyarce Kruger for sharing such a striking photo here!

He writes,  I also organize photo-safaris to watch birds in my my house and my terrains and find this awesome bird in my backyard, where there is a nesting place.  And from his site:  Ballenas.cl is an ongoing project that seeks to promote the protection of our natural resources and in particular the biodiversity of our country, particularly in the region of Los Lagos and Aysen.

Check out Jorge OK's site here: 

ballenas.cl

Multi-ethnic Bird Guide of the Subantarctic Forests of South America

 Originally posted 9/28/2010 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

UPDATE:  I recently received a copy of this marvelous book, and it's available now.  The included Yahgan story on the origin of the Magellanic Woodpecker tells an amazing tale of a brother who fell in love with his own sister "in ancestral times when birds were still humans."  Back in March 2010, I posted the information below about this book with its uniquely diverse content and beautiful photography.

Here's the description from the publisher, and you can find a few more details there at:   

University of North Texas Press

The subantarctic forests of South America are the world’s southernmost forested ecosystems. The birds have sung in these austral forests for millions of years; the Yahgan and Mapuche peoples have handed down their bird stories from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

 In Multi-ethnic Bird Guide of the Subantarctic Forests of South America, Ricardo Rozzi and his collaborators present a unique combination of bird guide and cultural ethnography. The book includes entries on fifty bird species of southern Chile and Argentina, among them the Magellanic Woodpecker, Rufous-Legged Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Buff-Necked Ibis, Giant Hummingbird, and Andean Condor. Each bird is named in Yahgan, Mapudungun, Spanish, English, and scientific nomenclature, followed by a description, full color photographs, the bird’s distribution map, habitat and lifestyle, and its history in the region.

 Each entry is augmented further with indigenous accounts of the bird in history and folklore. Two audio CDs (included) orient the reader with the birdcalls and their names in four languages, followed by numerous narratives of Yahgan and Mapuche stories about the birds translated directly from interviews with elders of both communities.

 

Here is a photo I took at el Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia. For a fascinating piece about the extraordinary Yahgan people:

Read more here.

Expert Driven Habitat Suitability Modelling for the Magellanic Woodpecker in Karukinka Natural Park, Tierra del Fuego, Chile

Originally posted March 24, 2010 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Recently, Adrian Hughes completed a masters thesis with the aforementioned title on the Magellanic Woopecker. He set up a related website at https://sites.google.com/site/campephilusgis/. Among the objectives of his study is this one: 

To produce a habitat suitability map of Karukinka Park and surrounding area for
  the Magellanic woodpecker using a GIS and Multi Criteria Evaluation to help
facilitate species location within the park.

Magellanic WoodPeckers, originally uploaded by Sergio R. Nuñez C.. 

Creative Commons licensed photo. 

Some of the most interesting (to me) facts and aspects regarding Magellanic Woodpeckers conveyed in the thesis are:

• The thesis argues in support of designating the Magellanic Woodpecker as a flagship species in support of protecting wildlife throughout Patagonia, as well as a keystone species and bio-indicator.  Those are three big designations to attach to one of the largest woodpeckers in the world.

• The study area was the Karukinka Natural Park that represents an area of 272,000 hectares or 672,126 acres.

• Magellanic Woodpeckers are sapsuckers!  This thesis mentions that Magellanic Woodpeckers are more prevalent in mixed forests because those forests contain a type of southern beech tree that provides them with "sap which is an energetic foodsource for the woodpecker that supplements the normal food source of wood boring lavae (Cerambycid)."
  

• Magellanic Woodpeckers nest in weakened trees >30 cm dbh, but not typically in fully dead trees because such trees are too susceptible to destruction from strong winds in Patagonia.

• Amazingly, Magellanic Woodpeckers require trees that are very old for nesting for they "found no trees with nest sign younger than 97 years with the mean age of all cavity trees being 187 years old."

• Magellanic Woodpeckers apparently avoid building nests near ravines where fast moving water in springtime is so loud as to interfere with their spring mating rituals.

• Magellanic Woodpeckers seem to benefit, in the short-term, from the invasive, introduced North American beaver, but perhaps not in the long-term after trees are fully dead as a result of beaver activity.

Eco-philanthropists Conserving Land in Patagonia

Originally posted  2/23/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

 

 "I do not want to live in a world where there are no orangutans, or

Magellanic woodpeckers."

                                                 -Kristine McDivitt Tompkins,

                                                  former CEO of clothing company Patagonia

Neither do I!

 
Read the Full Article

Magellanic Woodpecker in Patagonia

Originally posted 3/22/2010 - backdated to organized posts by topic.

This is one of four high-definition videos on YouTube of a male Magellanic Woodpecker foraging in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares near El Calafate in Patagonia, Argentina.  The Magellanic Woodpecker has a wide range.  It inhabits the Andes in southern Chile and forested areas of southwest Argentina.

View the Range Map

Patagonia is a paradise to hikers, photographers and to anyone who cherishes wildlife and wilderness.  The bird in this video lives in close proximity to the magnificent Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina.  Perhaps you've been there to see and hear humongous chunks of ice falling off the edge of the glacier and plunging into Lago Argentino!

Photo © Bill Benish

If you visit Patagonia, you can arrange to have the amazing experience of taking a walking tour on the Perito Moreno Glacier.  I cannot recommend this excursion strongly enough.  It is not always easy to arrange, nor is it inexpensive.   Never mind.  Just find a way to do it!   Start here with a Google search and browse the results:      big ice perito moreno

Photo © Bill Benish

And so this, among other fantastic places, is where the Magellanic Woodpecker lives in the adjoining southern beech tree forests.  It's no wonder that I long to be back there.

Magellanic Woodpecker - Hammering Away!

Male Magellanic Woodpecker in Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Magellanic Woodpecker

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

In January 2008, my partner Daniel and I traveled to Patagonia. Of course, we were hoping to observe the Magellanic Woodpecker. It took us quite a while to find them. We asked at the hostel in El Chaltén, "Where can we find these birds?" A knowledgeable person told us to drive to Lago del Desierto where there is a magnificent old growth forest. We went. And, finally, here was our first look at one, a female bird. I had no idea whether we'd be able to get closer to them or not. We did get closer, and it was a wonderful thing!

Photo taken in Lago/Laguna del Desierto, Argentina.

Magellanic Woodpecker

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

It's often said that you usually hear a woodpecker before you see it. The Magellanic Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in South America. I took this photo at Lago del Desierto, on the Chilean border in Argentina.

Magellanic Woodpecker - The Laughing Call

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

Soon after we spotted the group of 3 birds, they spotted us. Then one of the two females flew right over to us, landing high up in the closest tree. She looked down at us and gave out a loud call that sounded as if she was laughing hysterically.  I've watched Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) often in the US, and I've yet to see any of them exhibit such bold curiosity as this bird did.

To hear what this female Magellanic Woodpecker sounded like, check out this link at xeno-canto and select the first sound file on that page!  I took this photo in Lago del Desierto, Argentina.

Magellanic Woodpecker Pair

Magellanic Woodpeckers, originally uploaded by billy3001.

Magellanic Woodpeckers often travel in pairs or small family groups, as do several of its relatives. That's a fortunate thing for the lucky photographer!

HABITS

Cream-backed Woodpecker:  Apparently solitary outside of breeding season
Crimson-bellied Woodpecker:  Usually encountered in pairs or familiesCrimson-crested Woodpecker:  Observed in pairs or small groups
Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker:  No notes on it
Guayaquil Woodpecker:  Often met with in pairs
Imperial Woodpecker:  Lives in pairs and in family groups of 3 - 5 (10?) birds
Ivory-billed Woodpecker: No notes, though other sources mention travel in pairs and groups
Magellanic Woodpecker:  Met with singly, in pairs or in groups of 3 - 4
Pale-billed Woodpecker:  Found singly or in pairs
Powerful Woodpecker:  Often encountered in pairs
Red-necked Woodpecker:  Found in pairs or small family parties
Robust Woodpecker:  No notes

Source:   Woodpeckers: A Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World by H. Winkler, D. A. Christie & D. Nurney

Now, close your eyes and imagine seeing 10 live Imperial Woodpeckers at one time!

 

 Photo Info

When we had secured all the birds near camp
another party of five or six [imperials] was found in the hills a mile or so
away, and the Indians told us of other places where they were common.

- E.W. Nelson in The Auk, Vol. XV, No. 3, July 1898

Magellanic Woodpecker - Foraging

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

I love this male Magellanic Woodpecker photo.  Lago del Desierto, Argentina. 

Magellanic Woodpecker - Splendor in the Forest

Magellanic Woodpecker, originally uploaded by billy3001.

Female Magellanic Woodpecker splendor, at Lago del Desierto, Argentina.

Pajaro Carpintero

Originally posted 4/26/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Pajaro Carpintero, originally uploaded by jomme.

Black, white and red. The elegant color patterns of a male Magellanic Woodpecker make for a striking portrait against a stark, dead tree trunk! This excellent photo by jomme is posted here under Creative Commons license.

Refúgio Neumeyer - Pica Pau

Originally posted 7/22/11 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Refúgio Neumeyer - Pica Pau, a photo by demiante on Flickr.

This super cool image seems to be the perfect photo to post when high temperatures are smashing records across much of the USA today! The male Magellanic Woodpecker in this snowy tree was photographed by demiante at Refúgio Neumeyer in Valle de Challhuaco, near Bariloche, Chile.  Photo posted here under Creative Commons license.

Carpintero Macho

Originally posted 9/18/11 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

carpintero macho, a photo by lherrainz on Flickr.

Enjoy this stunning portrait of a male Magellanic Woodpecker captured in Patagonia, Argentina by Leandro Herrainz. The photo is posted here with his permission.

Carpintero Gigante Hembra

Originally posted 9/20/11 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Carpintero gigante hembra (campephilus magellanicus), a photo by lherrainz on Flickr.

This photo of a female Magellanic Woodpecker by Leandro Herrainz shows off it's impressive, curly crest very well - a feature shared by two of this species' northern relatives, the Imperial and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. It was captured along the Senda Costera in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

This new article may be of interest to you:

Long Slog for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Photo is posted here with permission from L. Herrainz.

Pale-billed Woodpecker at Cavity - Video

Originally posted 12/16/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

I recently came across this video clip of superb quality.   Posted by Naturalidades, it shows a male Pale-billed Woodpecker working on a cavity in the Guanacaste Conservation Area of Costa Rica.  Press play, then change the setting at the lower right of the video box from 360p to 480p to watch it at higher resolution.

It's worth turning the volume up at your end to hear the bill tapping as it works.  The bird pauses every few seconds to keep as close an eye on its surroundings as possible. 

Read more about Area de Conservación Guanacaste here

Pale-billed Woodpecker in Costa Rica

Originally posted 5/17/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Costa Rica, originally uploaded by L. Kay.

This photo of a male Pale-billed Woodpecker is @ L. Kay and posted here with permission. The bird is depicted here with sharp detail and in excellent color. The photo was taken at the Villa Lapas Lodge in Costa Rica.

Thanks to L. Kay and to all of the contributors to this blog for sharing their wonderful photography here!

Pale-billed Woodpecker Alighting on Tree in Costa Rica

Originally posted 5/2/13 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Untitled, a photo by mistercakes on Flickr.

Here is a male Pale-billed Woodpecker coming in for a landing in a uniquely interesting and dynamic photo that mistercakes took at Hacienda Beru in Costa Rica. It is posted here with permission.