On one of my regular walks through the woods, I passed by an old fence and saw a lifeless baby Great Spotted Woodpecker ((Dendrocopos Major) hanging off the wire mesh. He fatally broke his neck hitting the wire, for he was too young and lacked experience to see the fence which an older, more experienced bird would surely have.
Because of the old fence, the beautiful young bird never got a chance at life and lost it way too early. With his loss, we have lost a valuable bird known for helping the ecosystem by preserving the life of the trees.
Subsequently, as the final show of respect for the young life, I took the body of the juvenile woodpecker and buried him in the woods, where he belongs. This way, his body would not be visibly desecrated by flies or foxes and he will forever have a resting place which I will honor with my visits to pay respect to the animal.
At his gravesite, I made him a grave stone out of a rock I found there. May he rest in peace.
I was so heart broken when I found the lifeless baby-bird, I struggled to find words to express my sorrow, which I think shows in the video. The predominant bird call heard after I found the dead woodpecker is that of a Greater Whitethroat (Curruca Communis). The one sounded the loudest when I filmed the hatchling in the nest is the Common Chaffinch (Fringilla Coelebs).
00:00 Disclaimer
00:11 Woodpecker Nest in Tree Cavity
00:29 Woodpecker Hatchling Poked Head Out of Nest
00:50 Woodpecker Parent Feeds Worms to Nestling
01:04 Pecker Mama Raises Alarm When She Notices Me Close to Her Nest
01:33 Juvenile Woodpecker Found Dead After Hitting Fence on First Flight
02:07 Dead Bird Removed from Fence So I Can Bury Him
02:42 Digging a Grave for the Woodpecker
03:13 Juvenile Woodpecker Is Laid to Rest
03:32 Burial of the Bird
04:10 Making of the Grave Stone
04:37 Woodpecker's Final Resting Place
04:48 A Prayer for the Woodpecker's Journey
06:29 Gravesite Revisited, Woodpecker Rests in Peace
07:07 RIP Little Woodpecker :'(