Woodpeckers: The Story Behind the Photograph

By doing a little bit of preparation and planning, I’ve found woodpeckers to be one of the easiest group of birds to photograph. They’re found around the world and virtually everywhere in the United States, from the desert southwest to the boreal forests of the far north, and most quickly take advantage of an easy food source. Woodpeckers regularly visit bird feeders, if there’s an easy meal available, and for our birds, that’s suet cakes. In other areas of the country, with other species, sliced oranges, grapes, or mealworms may do the trick.

I’m not a fan of photos where a bird is perched or feeding upon a man-made feeder, such as a suet cage or a hunk of cut-up fruit. I prefer a natural-looking setup where the bird is perched upon a branch or log. Getting that type of shot can be easy, provided you give the photo project a little time.

While I’ve had our feeders going for years, if I’m doing a woodpecker setup, I’ll start by placing a couple of suet cakes in metal cages in the area where I want the birds to visit. If you haven’t attracted woodpeckers before, place the suet cages close to your other feeders. Many bird species will eat suet, and their activity will eventually draw the attention of any woodpeckers in the area. For example, over more than 35 years, I’ve only seen red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) in our yard a couple of times as they migrated through, but each time, these gorgeous, vivid birds stopped briefly at our feeders. Once birds are regularly visiting, they’ll recognize the suet cages in other locations as well, and I’ll be ready for the next step: adding a log.

I’ve done this several ways. For smaller woodpeckers, like downy woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens) or hairy woodpeckers (Dryobates villosus), I’ve used fallen trees, about eight centimeters/three inches in diameter, cut to a length of two meters/seven feet or so, which I’ve propped up and secured to one of our fence posts or to a sturdy sawhorse. Using an electric power drill, I’ll make a few holes where I’ll later add suet. For drilling holes, you may need to start with a small drill bit, especially if the wood is very solid. After starting a hole, I’ll change bits, angling the drill bit to create holes of varying sizes, up to about six centimeters/2.5 inches in length and four centimeters/1.5 inches wide, spaced about 10 centimeters/four inches apart. I’ll stuff broken-up suet cakes in the holes and, to start, hang one or two suet cages on the tree as well. The woodpeckers will recognize the cages first, but they’ll quickly find the suet holes too.

I don’t want the suet visible in my photos, so I position the log or trunk so that the holes aren’t visible. When a bird lands, it will present a nice profile — the classic field-guide look. Angling the log so that the holes are facing away or, better yet, adding a couple of holes on the side of the tree opposite to your position may result in interesting shots as the bird looks around the log.

We’re lucky this year in having pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus), a crow-sized bird, regularly visiting our setups. For this large bird, I wanted a more substantial perch, just large enough that a pileated would be framed, top and bottom, by the tree trunk. After scouring the woods, I found a sizeable log that I could cut to a manageable size (wood can be heavy!). I mounted this heavy chunk of wood on a platform made of two sawhorses and a sturdy board, securing the tree with angle irons and screws.

Woodpeckers’ shyness varies, and this seems to be based more upon location than species. In Montana, I photographed pileated woodpeckers while I stood about 4.5 meters/15 feet away without the bird paying any notice, while our birds at home fly off if I’m within six times that distance. This year, we have a red-headed that may be staying, but the bird is incredibly shy. I’m using a blind, and for several days, even the slightest movement of my lens would spook the bird to flight. Conversely, I’m often less than three meters/10 feet from our downy woodpeckers, which we’ve had at our feeders for years, without a blind. At any rate, I sit in a blind when I’m photographing woodpeckers, hoping that one of the shyer species shows up.

There is a wide variety of blinds available, from cheaper ones intended for hunters to a few specially made for photography that are generally more expensive. L. L. Rue III, truly the godfather of wildlife photography, used to sell a blind he designed, and it was, as you would expect, a good one. I still use mine, but I’ll also use a chair blind or, yes, an outhouse blind, which gets its name, I hope, from its shape and not its intended function.

Sitting in a blind when nothing is happening can be boring. Waiting for a particular species, like my skittish red-headed, may involve hours, and believe me, that time can drag on so that I might be tempted to quit. I don’t, because I often read! I’ll bring a book along and, once my initial enthusiasm wanes, I’ll start reading while I periodically look out to check on my set. Sometimes a bird slips in that I’ll notice a bit late and I’ll miss the shot, but to me, that’s better than just giving up and leaving.

I know; wildlife photographers are supposed to be the epitome of patience, and maybe some are. I certainly admire anyone who can stay focused and alert for hours while looking at a suet log. For me, that’s too grueling and wasteful, but I can sit inside a blind for hours with a book. If your patience is thin, or if you like to read, try it!