The photos in this slide presentation cover a period from May 3rd to May 28th, 2011. Mostly the images portray the trials and tribulations of raising a single male youngster. I did not see any other head pop up in the nest opening at feeding time. The look of him in profile and his beak’s length said “youngster.” I included a similar profile of the adult male as a comparison. The youngster appears to have visited a flower before I took the photo. He has a slightly powdered face.
Things to note when viewing the slides: I was impressed at the number of times I saw the parents working up a bill that is full of a water soaked pulp made up of bits and pieces of the flower’s Stamen and Pistle. It appears to me to be a drink for the youngster more than a food item. The Gila Woodpecker is an insect eater not a flower eater after all. If I am correct in the observation it only reinforces the importance of the Saguaro as a water source for several birds of the Sonoran Desert!
The parents seemed to have a yellow powdered face throughout this season of the Saguaro. It reminded me of the Victorian Era when powdered faces were the fashion among the humans. Of course this is good for the Saguaro. That pollen is passed from flower to flower. Everyone benefits from the insect gathering and the water gathering at these Saguaro blossoms!
The youngster fledged on the 28th. The parents began coaxing him out in earnest on May 26th. You can see them calling to him, “Come Out! Come Out! You need to start feeding yourself!” The youngster would make little noises like a sqwauking chirp that seemed to say, “Oh Me! Oh My! What should I do? It looks dangerous out there!” The youngster seemed to be building courage with each passing day and finally the last hours before emerging into the World and being a part of that struggle for Life! I returned to the nest a second time on the same day feeling that he was almost there in courage. I was right and unfortunately missed his exit by only a few minutes.
The day the youngster fledged the Saguaro had a single bloom just below the nest opening. It looked poignant. It made me think the Saguaro offered a good luck signal to the newborn. The long telephoto shot of the empty nest and the Saguaro I took as a parting shot while walking back to my car.
You may notice there is a similarity with some of the photos to a previous e-mail on the Cactus Wren. The Cactus Wren’s nest was within sight of the Gila Woodpecker’s nest. I could watch the Gila Woodpecker fly back to the Saguaro where its nest was located after loading up on insects or water. The lives in the park touch each other if only through mutually shared food sources.
