The woodpeckers are back

Great spotted woodpecker, 2011 in my garden

Yesterday, for the first time this year, a woodpecker came into our garden, searching for food. They have come every year for the past few years now, usually first the adults and then later when the chicks are fledged, the adults bring the juveniles along as well. So when we headed off into the woods on our mountain bikes this morning, I was wondering if we would see any there and, sure enough, every few minutes we heard the rapid hammer-action of a woodpecker beak smashing into a tree, looking for insects to eat or even starting on a nest. Whilst pausing for a rest in the Bennekomsebos, after a particularly slippery and muddy stretch, one flew onto a branch on a tree right next so the path, so that we could take a good look at it. 

I took the photo on the right in my garden a couple of years ago. You can see from the big red blob on top of the head that it is a juvenile.  The adult male has a red neck (and no red hat), which the female lacks. The Great Spotted has red under its tail which (together with the size) distinguishes it from the other species you can find here.

Pin It