Everything is Permuted

Not many shots today, but I did come across a woodpecker. I don't usually have much luck with these, but today I was persistent and fortune was with me.

I first noticed it when it shot off into the distance, a blur of yellow-green. I lost sight of it for a while, but then spotted it flying into a small group of trees. As I approached it took the wing. I followed it to another group of trees. Off it shot, eventually coming to land on a nearby fence-post. By this time I was protected by the trees and was able to approach without being seen.

As for taking the shot, the light was poor. I set the camera to ISO 800, with the aperture reasonably wide at f/7.1. This produced a shutter speed of 1/200s, which is somewhat slow for a full zoom (even with image stabilization). But it was about the best I could do. To avoid camera shake I used a monopod. These aren't as stable as a tripod, but the convenience and lack of weight makes them ideal for walking photography (tripods come into their own if you plan on staying in one spot). I managed about 10 or 11 frames before he took off again. This is probably the best of them. I've cropped the frame by around 50%, and used noise reduction on the background.

It's a male, the identifying feature being the bright red flash across the 'moustache' below the eye.
Green Woodpecker

Camera note: shot taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.