The temperature was hovering just below freezing and I was going on my sixth hour of sitting in my four foot by four foot nylon blind waiting. This is when this job gets a little mind numbing. I was waiting to photograph an elusive bird when I realized a question kept running through my head over and over—when is a woodpecker not a woodpecker? I answered myself—when it is a Red-headed Woodpecker. Perfect theme for this week’s column. So here it goes.

As far as a species goes, I think the Red-headed Woodpecker is the woodpecker most unlike other woodpeckers. Let me explain.

Lately I have been concentrating my photographic efforts on a specific species—the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). This means I spend day after day sitting in my blind watching and waiting for the woodpeckers to come close enough to photograph. It allows me endless hours to watch their every movement and interaction. At night I spend time researching and reading what others have observed about the species. I also read all the research papers that have been published about the species. The next day I go back and sit and watch and wait some more. (Of one interesting note, this specie is one of the least studied woodpeckers in North America.)

Read the rest of the Stan's column in our February issue...