A female Magellanic Woodpecker perched on a lenga tree. The lichen draping the tree is Old Man’s Beard (Usnea barbata). Photo by Ross Donihue & Marty Schnure.
Near the top of the Avilés Valley, the new trail bends away from the river and points up into a montane lenga forest. Ducking into the forest for some shade, we saw a flash of scarlet and heard a short kee-OW! We froze. For the next half hour, two Magellanic Woodpeckers, a male and a female, put on a colorful show for us.
The male in this monogamous pair. Photo by Ross Donihue & Marty Schnure.
Known locally as Carpinteros, Magellanic Woodpeckers (Campephilus magellanicus) find their food by pecking for grub in live and dead trees. They also use more deliberate, patterned pecking to communicate with each other.
Check out this video of BBC’s David Attenborough interacting with a pair of Magellanic Woodpeckers in Patagonia. We’re going to try his stone trick next time we’re out!
Field Trip 
Great pictures. What you are seeing is so wonderful. Are you able to do your job with all the exciting distractions?
Cary
Love these posts Marty and Ross!
I love the way you are giving us some ecological context for these great pictures.
Great pictures and a nice video. How large is the woodpecker?
The woodpecker was about a foot and a half tall. Thanks for your comment! More to come soon.
cool birds
How Grandpa would love all your bird pictures!! Me too. Grandma