Himalayan woodpecker - Pangot, a zen moment

[Kaustuv Chatterjee]

I was standing silently beside a tree waiting for the Kolkas pheasant that had been calling to show itself. It was around 8 with a gentle cool breeze and a beautiful morning light lingering on the tree leaves & trunks. This Himalayan woodpecker had been steadily going 'tok..tok..tok' at a lichen, moss covered pine some distance away. It flew into the tree in front of me and resumed it foraging for bugs, insects. I was with this wonderful specimen going about its business for a good 10 mns, a period of eternity in itself with the soft morning light, the slight nip in the air, a symphony of bird notes near & far & this woodpecker. Zen.

Shot with the Nikon D 90, Nikkor 70-300mm, at 300mm, ISO 400, 1/125 s - F/5.6.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice to see this species. It is good that you got a sideon profile. Some more details in the image would have looked great. Thanks for sharing.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice sighting. Good image. Not many are fortunate to see these species. How nice it is that you are absorbing nature. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Mrudul Godbole]

Lovely sighting. Good composition and eye contact. The clean background adds to the image. You could have tried using a higher ISO and shutter speed to capture the pecking motion. Nice account of the sighting and the jungle. Thanks for sharing.

[Kaustuv Chatterjee]

Thanks for your encouraging comments

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice image kaustuv. good to see this species. you seem to have clicked when it was pecking at the trunk.

TFS
Roopak

[Kaustuv Chatterjee]

Thanks Roopak. Yes, these restless birds are difficult to catch still.