Last Saturday, while walking through Town near the back of Playa Danta, a rhythmic knocking broke the usual sounds of the morning, the kind that makes people pause mid-conversation and glance toward the trees.
Heads turned upward in curiosity, scanning the branches. The search paused the pace of the morning, and soon others, drawn by the same sound, gathered to listen and wonder. People stopped, looked up, took out their phones to capture the moment. Excitement spread as more eyes tried to spot the bird among the branches.
The bird revealed itself: a flash of striped feathers and its distinctive yellow head was visible. From what could be seen, it appeared to be a Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons), known locally as Carpintero Cheje.
This species is a year-round resident, common in dry and open forests of northwestern Costa Rica, especially Guanacaste. It’s one of the few woodpeckers well adapted to the hot, seasonal climate of the region. Both males and females drum on trees, not only to forage but also to communicate and mark territory. The rhythmic knocking serves several purposes: to find insects hiding beneath the bark, to excavate nesting cavities, and to signal presence and territorial claims through sound. The hammering patterns vary between species, functioning as a unique form of communication.
Their striking plumage is a mix of black and white barring and only part of its yellow head was visible as the bird kept its beak busy working on the tree. Even so, the encounter was enough to spark a quiet moment of shared fascination under the canopy. One of those spontaneous pauses when nature gently calls for attention, and people answer.