My suspicion, based on the frequency of my recent black woodpecker sightings—from zero to one per week—was that the large hole in the tree where it was hanging and calling loudly last time was probably important. On Friday, I took up position, and after Josh called me back to the stag beetle. On my return I found the young sitting at the hole, looking for food. I was anything but quiet, and walkers with dogs kept passing by, which is probably why they wasn’t any feeding. After 20 minutes, I left.

Not only was the woodpecker hungry, but on top of that, the 5 kg that my camera weighs aren’t easy to hold handheld for long. Next step: Buy a travel tripod and attach it to my bike somehow. A comfortable camping seat and some camouflage would also be helpful. We’ll see if it’s still there next week—until then, unfortunately, it’s “no time” again