Perhaps the coolest bird that I managed to spot during my recent walk through part of the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria was a Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius). The woodpecker was pecking away at a log on the ground, which allowed me to capture some relatively close shots of this large woodpecker.
I had never seen a woodpecker like this one, but it was not hard to find an identification on-line, give the size and coloration of the bird. According to Wilkipedia, the Black Woodpecker is “closely related to and shares the same ecological niche in Europe as the Pileated Woodpecker of North America.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You are right! What a cool looking bird!
Wow – Lucky you! A gorgeous bird in a cool place
Carol
Well done on capturing such a close up image – the little blob of red on the head is (I agree) very cool.
I like the way you were sitting in the bushes right next to the bird and it never noticed. Even looked your way most of the time. HOW”D YOU DO THAT?
wow cool! great close ups 🙂
Thanks so much. I was really fortunate that I was mostly hidden by vegetation when I spotted this woodpecker, so it was not immediately aware of my presence.
I’ve never seen this woodpecker either, Mike. He’s beautiful. If the comparison is to our pileated, he must be quite large. Love the feet. Danke.
That is an impressive bird, complete with an ivory bill and a white iris no less. Some nice close-ups — did you take the big telephoto, or the macro lens?
I took the shots with a Canon SX50, a point and shoot camera with a big zoom. This trip is the first time I’ve really used it much and it’s a fun experience learning how to take advantage of its capabilities.
Thats a new one to me too, great shots..:-)
That’s an interesting looking woodpecker!
Great shots. I love the one where he’s looking at you. He’s a beautiful bird, Mike.
Awesome pictures! And a very pretty bird 🙂