I haven't seen a Great Spotted Woodpecker in our garden for well over 2 years; used to see him often and always on the fat ball feeder. Carole saw him last week, and took a few photographs but unfortunately he was behind the balls of fat. Today, I watched and photographed him for around 10 minutes pecking away at the last remaining fatball. He then flew into one of the trees and started to peck the tree trunk; unfortunately my camera focussed on the tree and not the bird, so those photographs are rather rubbish.
Quite a common bird here in the UK (just not in my garden of late) and I think this photograph completes all of the birds who visit our garden.
Wickipedia describes it as "The great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found across Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Across most of its range it is resident, but in the north some will migrate if the conifer cone crop fails. Some individuals have a tendency to wander, leading to the recent recolonisation of Ireland and to vagrancy to North America. Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. It is similar to the less common lesser spotted woodpecker."
Thank you for your views, comments and favs on yesterday’s offering. Much appreciated.
