banded woodpecker cooling off @ bukit brown 15Jan2012

I spotted the first Woodpecker just outside of a large hole in a tree. This was just before the tomb with the red-turbaned guards. It flew to an adjacent palm tree whilst another woodpecker (the subject of the video clip) flew in to use the hole in the tree.

After a first woodpecker had abandoned the tree hole, the second one flew up to the tree and inspected the large hole before reversing itself into the hole and disappearing into it. Judging from the splashes, it was having a bath in the water collected in the tree hole. The water could not have been very clean as the bird's feathers looked grimy when it finally came out at about the 3.45 mark.

At the 1.54 mark, you can hear the first woodpecker chasing a third intruding woodpecker away. The 'rapid-fire cackling' was really loud and the chaser bird did not seem bothered with passing close within a few feet of me. It must have been really focused on the intruding woodpecker to have ignored me at such close proximity. It continued chasing the third bird some distance into the surrounding trees.


From a conversation with a friend who is a more experienced birdwatcher, it seems that the cackling had come from a Common Flameback Woodpecker (a.k.a Common Goldenback).

The bathing woodpecker (Banded Woodpecker) saw fit to momentarily stop its bath and looked around to see what the fuss was about. Then, rather nonchalantly, it resumed its bath. The entire bath took about 4 minutes.

Time  : 11.15am, 15 Jan 2012
Place : Bukit Brown Cemetary, the tree at the red-turbaned guarded tomb.

find out more about the banded woodpecker :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_Woodpecker
http://www.besgroup.org/?s=banded+woodpecker&x=0&y=0

and read about Bukit Brown :
http://bukitbrown.org/
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/10/bukit-brown-hope-springs-eternal.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_736000.html