This story is the third and final in a series about pileated woodpeckers—a series that touches the earth of Oaxaca, Mexico, that invites us to immerse ourselves in a cottonwood forest in Montana, USA, that expands to touch on global themes like reciprocity and our human relationship with nature. 

This episode includes a passage by the writer Osprey Oreille Lake about reciprocity and gift economies from her book The Story is In Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis. Thanks to Osprey for giving me permission to quote her words. As always, I’ve also included various natural sound recordings that I made, among them: western wood-pewee (Contopus sordidulus) songs, pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) calls and drumming, songs of a Wilson’s warbler (Cardellina pusilla) and a yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia), the call of a Cassin’s kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans), the wind through the tall dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), the song of a Middle American screech-owl (Megascops guatemalae), songs of boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata), and a singing western screech-owl (Megascops kennicottii). 

As always, I depend on the support of my listeners to continue doing this work. Please share these podcasts, leave a rating, and, if you’re able, support me through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature. Thank you!!!

You can find the written, illustrated version of this story here: https://wildwithnature.com/2025/06/01/pileated-woodpeckers-and-reciprocity/