I didn't expect to be crying at 3pm on a Tuesday about woodpeckers, but here we are. Thank you for making this.

You’re an incredible story teller. Thank you.

This spring, I had the honor of finding a hummingbird nest alongside my favorite hiking trail. It was magnificently crafted. The outer wall was covered in lichen, and the inside was lined with cotton from a cottonwood tree to cushion the two tiny white eggs. I checked on them every day or two. They hatched, then everything went quickly. Those baby birds grew fast. I felt so proud of them, like they were my adopted grandbabies. Over a few weeks, they seemed to get too big for their nest. Then one day, I saw them perched on the edge of their nest, flapping their wings. They flew away as I approached, and that was that. It surprised me how much of an impact those baby hummingbirds had on me, and I realize now just how much I've learned about them since first discovering their nest.

While hunting for deer, motionless, I witnessed a couple of woodpeckers of this kind having a very animated discussion. The female was very angry at the male and berated him for twenty minutes. He kept picking at the ground and never said a word. They were about 15 feet away from me and I did not move at all during that time. This was one of the best theater play I ever saw. I could see that he had done something very wrong and was conscious of it, and knew that he had to listen to his wife's scolding until she was through. I felt that there was something uncannily human about it. Having had a camera like here would certainly have made a good video. These animals talk among themselves and appear to have a complete understanding of what is being said. I could only surmise that that guy had had a little bit too much of fermented grapes on the previous evening and had come home too late...He looked a bit ragged...

This moved me a lot.. Amazing photography. Outstanding naration. Nat Geo has nothing on this piece.

May I add that that we, as your subscribers are just as fortunate to get to see through your wonderful story, the miracle of nature. Honestly, it was a truly wonderful experience to watch and to embrace the sincerity of the entire encounter. Thank you so much.❤️

The camera shot of the final resting place of the young bird who didn't make it was classy, a full body shot would of been too much. Good content.

I have been a Pileated Woodpecker admirer for many years. Our neighborhood has been blessed with a pair for years. Don't know how long but, I have been enjoying them for ~ 15 years. In that time I've only seen one pair of juveniles that were inspecting a tree in my yard for a few days. I was so thrilled to come out in my back yard one morning to find them. I got some video and sat in awe watching and listening. After a few days, they were gone. Off to explore their new world. I consider it a blessing to be able to experience this. I truly enjoyed your video and thank you for sharing your story.

That was so beautifully spoken. I love how you savour the moment and appreciate the gifts of nature. Your energy is infectious :)

Great storytelling Adam. It's always a treat to see the pileated woodpecker out in the woods.

“A slice of the grand mystery so thick...” poetic. Great narration.

We live in north east Texas so we have had the privilege of seeing them any time we heard them. We were very happy to share space with these birds. When I first saw them, it looked like a duck, it was huge in size but exactly the same coloring as the red headed wood peckers . So we looked into it ,I’m sure I couldn’t spell it correct , apealiated. They’re beautiful and a treasure. We love all the birds and animals that fly around and hop here and there. When I see our animals I stop and move quietly around and tell them it’s ok to play here.🐣

I love this video. I had the honor of holding an adult male pileated woodpecker when I volunteered at a wildlife rehab center. It was magical.

recently was stunned by nature on a date, we encountered a massive owl. it was dusk. it just stared at us. calm as could be. it was the closest i've ever been to one. he was huge, and gorgeous, and he actually flew to rest on a branch closer to us to watch us as we watched him as we took a few more steps forward. we didn't take any pictures, it never even occured to us. just looked at each other for what was probably just a few minutes, but felt like days. these moments are truly remarkable. this video is wonderful, thank you! stay well

Wow, you're a great storyteller. Thank you so much for all the intense work, shared emotion and the tremendous amount of time you certainly spent gathering and editing this tale!

We’re fortunate to have a pair of living in our back yard woods. You’re right - you always hear them first. Beautiful!

What beautiful footage.......and story. This brought smiles and tears. An honor to the woodpecker family..... especially the little one.🙂 Thank you for the time you spent on this.

This little mini documentary movie was absolutely phenomenal! I resonate with the way you do things I just adore you! ❤️

"When you love something, it gives up it's secrets." G.W. Carver said that. Carver claimed that's how he invented 300 uses for the peanut. He LOVED plants... especially flowers. I have read almost every book about G.W. Carver. The best book about him is titled, "George Washington Carver, the Man Who Overcame." by Lawrence Elliott

I just love that you had such an awesome experience in nature. I wish more young people were like you, because they’ll never know what they’re missing. Thank you for the video, I love it.

You feel like the luckiest human alive at that moment...its what motivates me to shut off KZfaq and go outside. As I'll do right now....thanks from Ireland mate.

Clearly your best video to date, you should share more about mother nature's critters. 5 stars! thanks!

RIP Little One. Your life is celebrated and you are fondly remembered in this video.

Adam Angel Thank U ..sensitive passionate & beautifully videoed produced & presented ..love ❤️ this & these wonderful birds .U handled death of little one lovingly😢 .. i see hear & talk w them each Spring when most vocal never saw their nest so this was a blessing 🙏😎👑♥️🕊🍃🌞

Wow! What a production! Excellent! I learned so much. Thank you.

Lovely, reverent video, Adam. Thanks for sharing this experience. ❤️

I enjoyed your reverence for this extraordinary muscle bird that jumps not flap through the air. One of my favorite birds to watch and admire. One day I noticed something make a small areal loop in front of my car. Ah, the car in front of me just hit a bird. I pulled over. It was a pileated woodpecker. He stood but stunned in the shoulder of the road. I walked backwards holding a jacket to throw over him fearing it may be scared into the road or away from me. Success. He looked strong yet I still brought him to our nearby animal rescue on Bainbridge Island. The receiving caretakers though dampened my excitement. The were dismissive and aloof, when I asked to be with him while they assessed the damage. Also, as incredible as it sounds in Nepal I had wrapped a yellow eyed hawk (?) around my leather jacket the same way. He was in a tennis court in Kathmandu. About 10 crows were perched and squawking atop the high chain link fence. The hawk repeatedly flew into and not over the fence where the crows were perched. He was in the corner of the fence when I threw the jacket (not same one) on him. He was cool and apparently ok when I pulled back the jacket. He paused for a minute or two then took off line an airplane on a runway. Straight and gradual. Magical!!

Thanks so much Adam. I love your videos, your passion, your knowledge. This video was just so special. Thank you for sharing. A wonderful story and beautifully told.

Adam, what an incredible gift. For you, and for all of us. Incredible photography, and your narration was both informative and beautiful. Many, many thanks.

Fortunately, I am weathering COVID-19 in the Mt Hood National Forrest and have a pileated woodpecker nest in a half-alive large old-growth Cedar behind my tiny house on wheels. The male is enormous with a huge red crest & those babies are very demanding! I also regularly have downy & hairy woodpecker families eating from my meal worm dispenser.

Another exceptionally well done video - thank you for sharing such a private/special moment in your life.

What a beautiful experience. I’m blessed that you got to capture it and share it with us. It’s nice to know there are people out there who get the experience and see the gift they are given. Beautifully put. Thank you

You are the type of person I’d love to have in my life. Enjoy your posts ever so much. Thank you.

Whenever I see one in the forest, a feeling of awe overwhelms me. I try and track them by the noise of their pecks, which is loud, at least in my neck of the woods. Thanks for sharing, Adam.

I saw a most beautiful bird as I pulled back my kitchen curtains this morning. She flew in and perched herself on the yard fence nearby, and in less than a minute, she was gone. I later described to my partner what I saw and was told it was likely a woodpecker. I went online and stumbled on this video almost immediately. My garden crew that visits my yard daily are blue jays ( which harrass a neighborhood cat mercilessly ) and robins who eat all our blueberries, and humming birds who love the rose of sharon nectar. But today was a special treat. And a learning moment. Thank you.

When I bought my first house about 30 years ago I was working the night shift. I would walk out to my mailbox in the late morning and more often than night I would seea pair of Pileated Woodpeckers fly up the gravel road from tree to tree. They would eventually end up on a pile of railroad ties in my side yard, and they tore the heck out of those over the years. One of the most beautiful bird I've ever seen.

I'll never stop admiring your love for nature.

One of your best videos! I have two words and the great name of nature..... "Marty Stauffer" Gave us the awesome show "Wild America"

I was getting out of my car when a fledgling palliated wood pecker flew near me and landed a few feet away on a rock wall. Just a few mins later the parent landed next to it and started feeding its baby. It was so amazing to see. I had never seen a baby one before. It was such a special moment.

Nice job Adam. I’m 60 years old and new to morel mushroom hunting. I have watched your videos on tree identification and finding morels. You are a good teacher, been having some good luck with your advice. Enjoy your work, thanks for the information. Stay safe and healthy.

Adam, we are blessed to hear your commentary. Nature is a wild and has its own agenda. Every being is sentient and valuable. You are a guide in her universe. May we all love and respect Nature as you do. You are a modern Thoreau and Muir...

Excellent story Adam! Made even better by an Emmy Award winning quality production : )

I enjoyed this same experience a year ago. This truly is an amazing and beautiful bird. Red, white and black. Stands out in the forest as if it owns it. And to watch it fly is comparable to watching videos of an F15 strike eagle in action. I have a family of 5 that visit me almost daily. A real pleasure to just watch in awe! Glad to see someone with skills using them to educate the world on what we are so blessed to be surrounded by. Keep up the great work. Rob

A beautiful and moving documentary of your association with the pileated woodpecker family. I'm moved daily by glimpses of nature that often go unnoticed by most. To know there are others in the world who feel the same is gratifying. Thank you.

The talent you possess and what you do with it is an absolute gift! From commentary to delivery from videography to photography you share that gift with all of us! Blessed is he who is but small and one! (small to nature and one with it)

Great work on this project! I'm really starting to love your videos. You put in a lot of care and it shows. ♥️👍💚🙏

Thank you for sharing. I was at my dining table and looked out the window and observed a mother cardinal and her young one looking for worms. It was obvious she was teaching her baby how to look for food. I then looked up and saw a beautiful red cardinal in the tree observing and protecting his mate and child. Precious moment. I felt blessed to have seen this nurturing moment.

Thank you for handling this so sensitively, Adam. It was beautiful.

Thanks again for a great video. I've heard their call before, now I know where it came from. I had a bunch of pines drop in my yard and they were loaded with woodpecker holes. It reminded me of all the holes I drilled when I inoculated my mushroom logs. I'm sure woodpeckers play a role in mushroom distribution.

I needed this as a reminder of the wisdom of life and the beauty of nature. So much to learn, and so I'll keep this video within reach to review again, now and again, contemplatively! Thank you, Adam!

Excellent film! Outstanding narration..the young man was a wonderful storyteller..also , the music was most appropriate..I learned a great deal about these amazing birds that most of us don not get to see in the wild.

I have been priviledge to live in Maine on 3 acres of mostly woodland and have experienced the wonders of nature first hand. I've lived here for 30 years now and have had a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers almost every year. It's hard to work when you are surrounded by this kind of nature. This year has not been disappointing, a pair on a very old maple that will unfortunately have to be cut down before winter as it endangers my home. Four Robin's were born on our porch this year, Saddened when I woke up to see 3 of the 4 chicks gone, momma kept feeding another two days and Junior was gone. Saddened me deeply because Momma and I had become friends. That evening, as I sat on the back porch, Momma came with Junior to say thanks for the mealworms and goodbye. Thank you for sharing. It was really a big deal to go there every day just to enjoy Gods work and share it. Needed so desperately in these days of ugliness. 🥰

Beautiful and lyrical. Worthy of Leopold and Muir. Thank you

I love this! I have them in my 50 acre farm. My forest area is 14 acres on one side at 17 acres on the other side. Mature enough to attract them 💗

A little tear for the little one. The wonders of nature. We have a couple of woodpeckers that come to our feeder daily and we just adore them. Thank you for sharing.

A very touching story ❣️ We have a pileated woodpecker that visits us occasionally and what a treat! Thank you Adam for all that you do!

Greetings from Baltimore...we have these majestic birds in our area and love hearing them every year...we just gained a mated pair of owls this year in our hood...amazing...Keeping bees has taught me that life is just a fleeting moment that we must grasp and hold for the short time we are given to enjoy our surroundings that nature has provided us.

This is so wonderful! Made me feel a lot of love and also brought a tear to my eye. Intimate moments in nature are the richest I've ever experienced.

A marvelous sermon on nature, My daughter Erin Bickley Taylor is an astute observer of nature. She has shared some of the woodpecker observations with me. I am a retired forester, His comments on Beech trees are interesting. I understand that where beeches occupy a site, the soil has not been disturbed for a hundred years. Beech trees have an obligatory relationship with certain mycorrhizae (soil fungi), and if the fungi are killed, the beech trees will not survive.

Adam, you're charisma is contagious, and your passion for nature and the intertwining links and mitochondria that make Gaia what she is.

You are a wonderful story telling, near pulling us into the actual experience ourselves. Your filming and photos are beautiful. I also am lucky to see and or hear pileated woodpeckers most days. We have cottonwood trees that they love nesting and drumming on. And conifers that they peck in for food. An amazing presence in the forest. Thank you.

Bravo sir. That was a wonderful work of art you put together there. A pure delight and heartache to watch.

That was LOVELY! We have had some pileated woodpeckers visit us here on our farm a couple times and they have taken my breath away. I hadn’t seen one in a long time and one March I sat on the back deck and made a birthday card for my dad featuring a woodpecker who had pecked out “Happy Birthday” in the bark of a tree. A couple days later is when a pileated woodpecker returned to visit. I was stunned! Nature truly is magical :)

What a wonderful video, and filled with real feeling and poetry. It was a happy video until we found out what happened to Little One. That was so sad. Thank you for one of the best videos on wildlife I've ever seen. You captured something very special. I just wish Little One didn't die...

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story Adam. In a time when I’m feeling a very strong pull to devote the rest my life to nature and her wonders, this really resonated with me.

Outstanding presentation, Adam! Beautifully written and photographed. Excellent job! Should win some sort of award. Thank you.

Thank you so much for sharing this story. The Pileated Woodpecker is one of my most favorite birds. I have a big smile come over me when I get to see or hear one of these great birds!

I was blessed with a nearby nest. I had THE BEST spring watching the parents and came within a couple feet of the male during his evening hunt. They were right out back so every day I was able to watch their lives. What a treasure it was!!

You were blessed to see them, we are blessed that you did.

A wonderful story beautifully told. Thank you for sharing this, Adam❤️

Literally one of the most beautiful and important videos I've seen on KZfaq. I have pileated woodpeckers in my neighborhood and I've seen a male twice-they're fascinating and so amazing to watch. If everyone appreciated nature like you do, Earth wouldn't be in so much danger. Thank you for passing on your knowledge and passion for nature, it's such important work!! 🤎👏🙏

You're an amazing storyteller... I sobbed.

The value of dead trees and stumps in the forest.

This was lovely. I very much enjoy it,because nature helps me to truely take in my blessings too. He put us in the garden for a reason😊 God bless!

Thank you so much for this wonderful short film. I can very much relate to your experience. I have been so incredibly lucky to be able to observe and photograph three pileated woodpecker families raise their young. It is indeed an amazing privilege!

I live in the woods of southwestern Pa. I have a male that visits a large dead ash tree up in the back yard and always sings his song to announce his arrival. Thank you for your story !

You have an awesome way of explaining yourself to us readers that holds our attention till the very end. Such an interesting story.

Well done! What a great lesson about life in general. This story about Woodpeckers is a great teaching moment, especially for parents or children who lose siblings at a young age. It answers questions that sometimes have no answers and as a result there should be no self guilt either. Thank you for sharing this.

I love spotting woodpeckers in the woods. Thanks for telling us the story of this little family, sad bits and all.

You are a natural story/video teller. But now I am crying! But also not crying, just the bitter-sweetness of life.

The woodpecker’s name in Spanish is ‘pájaro carpintero’ or carpenter bird. And their favorite food is carpenter ants. Now, that’s what you call ‘killing the competition’!

For these events, the native Americans coined the term 'Good Medicine'. ✨

Adam All I can say is thank you for your patience and your sharing.

Little One touched many hearts in his short time. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work!

A delightful and charming piece by an equally charming host and story teller.

It's a blessing to bare witness to a moment in their lives.

How could anyone give this moving and inspirational insight into such a normally hidden or at least not easily observed phenomenon a thumbs down critique? Thanks for what you do and special thanks for this story.

I love the sound of the pileated woodpecker, and in the spring when their call causes wild turkeys to gobble. Thanks for a beautiful video Adam.

Outstanding video! I was amazed with every detail. I am familiar with these birds but you captured the thier life so well, for me it was like discovering a brand new bird. Thanks !

❤❤😫😢 loving and sobbing, all at the same time. What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing Adam! Your unique ability to share knowledge, history and cleverness never ceases to amaze me.💙🌎

My wife and I have a birdhouse that a pair of chickadees occupied this spring. We watched them every day over the course of two weeks feeding their young. One morning we got up, had breakfast, watched them for a while and went inside. About 11 AM we went outside and they were all gone. I was crushed but happy for them and grateful to have had their company if only for a couple of weeks.

left the city, moved to the Yosemite area to tele-commute. Out my window, across the creek was an old Oregon ash that was about half dead. The top hole had a family of ash throated fly catchers, and facing my window was a large hole half way up the tree. Near the end of spring, a northern flicker woodpecker came every afternoon and pounded on the side of his new apartment, trying to attract a mate. he left that season unsuccessful , but much to my delight, he returned the next spring and found a girl bird. The fly catchers came back too, it was so cool to be able to watch the process from start to finish.....thanks for the great and always informative videos.

Thank you for posting this. It’s so refreshing to see someone else who has this close kinship with nature. I was beginning to think that I was alone in this wonderful experience. I especially thank you because I haven’t been in the hills of Pennsylvania since I was a young man. I agree that this is your most wonderful featured video. Please keep publishing your experiences.

Great video that I didn’t expect to affect me emotionally at all, but it did, and I will be listening for their call from now on. Thank you.

I have been blessed to have several pileated woodpeckers living in our woods. I love watching them and the sounds of them hammering away in the trees! Thank you for sharing this!

This was a great story about the pileated woodpecker from an observant and persistent guy w/a good camera. When I saw the title, was expecting to hear an explanation about the miracle of a woodpecker hammering on wood like a machine and not beating his brains out. It is amazing that woodpeckers are designed like no other bird. Enjoyed the point made that woodpeckers provide homes for many other inhabitants of the woods -

Your appreciation for nature, patience, and openness to learn by watching are all inspirational. This is beautiful, and I appreciate it beyond belief.

One of my favorites from you, thank you...so sad about the little one, thank you for sharing your story of life, it is a beautiful one, a slice of heaven on earth.

Wow. Adam.. just when I think you couldn't possibly create anything cooler than your regular content, I find this gem. We are kindred spirits, in the sense of not just acknowledging the value and beauty of nature, but being drawn by an invisible force, to be right there in it, to experience it through every sense. I so appreciate this, and all you do. Though this one made me much more emotional than any of your mycology and other foraging videos lol I thank you for sharing this very special experience with us. Blessings to you and yours.

Yes, this made me cry because it's so beautiful. Your photography, and interest is so amazing, you need to be on the National Geographic team