Black woodpeckers in Poland are elusive and have rarely been filmed. A pair of these large, imposing birds make a home in a beech tree, where they feed their hungry chicks.
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TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] In the dark forests of Poland, in Stolowe National Park, (bird screeching) wild and eerie calls inhabit the woods.
(bird screeching) (birds chirping) They belong to a pair of rarely filmed black woodpeckers calling to each other through the trees.
(bird screeching) They are large, imposing birds, jet black with a splash of red on their crowns.
(woodpecker beak drumming) (bird screeching) These two have made a home in a beech tree and are raising a family 80 feet up in the air.
They dote on their three little chicks, only eight days old.
The nest hole is surprisingly deep.
The adults have chiseled down 15 inches into the tree, painstakingly removing all the debris, except for a layer of wood chips that line the bottom of the hole.
At first, the little woodies nap a lot, securely tucked away in their dark wooden womb.
(wings flapping) (chicks chirping) But soon all the chicks are crying all the time.
(chicks chirping) Not the least interested in concealing their presence.
The nest is so high, it's almost predator-proof.
Their father, in his full red cap, (chicks chirping) and their mother in her smaller one, fly back and forth with food while the chicks grow and grow.
(chicks chirping) With daylight approaching 17 hours at the height of June, there's no rest for the weary.
(birds chirping)
