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For several winters in a row, my friend Stanislav and I went to Verkhnyaya Berezovka on weekends. Here, after completing the felling, the loggers left a trailer with a stove and a luxurious bathhouse. Of course, we used the bathhouse to the fullest, inviting our friends from time to time. The place is quite attractive.

This is a large clearing, on one side there is a birch grove, above there is a ridge of picturesque rocks, below there is a mountain stream and a dense spruce forest. We came here on skis. Now we remember how early in the morning in the thick twilight, when it is difficult to see a bird, when porridge and tea were still boiling on the fire, we already heard the drumming of a woodpecker. And if he suddenly didn’t arrive, we were clearly missing something.

Now, looking out of the window of a dacha located in a pine forest, I see tall pines outside the window and hear the familiar drumming melody of a woodpecker who has taken a fancy to one of the old pines. Nearby is a birch tree, the trunk of which is perforated by the beak of a bird. Every spring, with the beginning of sap flow in the trees, she flies in to feast on life-giving birch sap. It’s nice to watch the woodpecker at this moment.

I really like, I admit, this hardworking and cute bird. After all, each of them has many good deeds to their credit. Firstly, they destroy many dangerous forest pests, which is inaccessible to other birds. The woodpecker has an excellent tool — a strong chisel-shaped beak and a long tongue.

Secondly, in search of insects, they only gouge trees infected with pests and never touch healthy ones. Here’s another example of its usefulness. Traditionally, the woodpecker never uses its nesting hole twice. Therefore, these cozy houses are occupied by other birds who cannot do this themselves.

You can often see flocks of nimble tits accompanying woodpeckers and picking out the remains of edible items from dead wood. The most common species in Buryatia is the Great Spotted Woodpecker. The black woodpecker, noticeable by its red cap on its head, should also be included in this cohort. It often lives in burnt areas with diseased trees and clearings.

It feeds on tree insects, including ants. According to experts, there are about 3 thousand pairs of this species nesting here. It is in vain that woodpeckers are sometimes blamed for the damage they cause to ants, which act as forest orderlies. Although ants and ant eggs do not occupy the main place in the woodpecker’s diet.

For comparison, let’s see what damage the same bear does when eating ants and completely destroying anthills. Here, I hope, I have introduced you to the track record of this amazing bird, which for its useful activities received the title of “forest doctor” or “forest orderly.” At the same time, forest workers and ornithologists pay insufficient attention to these worthy forest workers.