WOODPECKERS

 Green Woodpeckers are a very difficult bird to get close to let alone photograph but my luck was in a few weeks back when a male bird landed on a lampost near my home and then landed on the floor where it started feeding on an ants nest.

male green woodpecker

feeding on ants

They are beautiful birds and I feel very privileged to have them nesting up here every spring. For those who don't know the difference between male and female the male bird has a splash of red on it's moustachial stripe just below the bill which can be clearly seen on the photo above.

The next two images are of the female no red on the moustachial stripe.

female green woodpecker

Here's a short clip of the male feeding.

We also get Great Spotted Woodpeckers that unlike the Greens come regularly to the feeders here's a couple of pic's of the male and female.

male with the red patch at the back of the head

female

another female

So that's our regular breeding Woodpeckers, there is another woodpecker that breeds in the UK that's the Lesser Spotted a very rare bird indeed they are found in only small pockets of woodland around Britain and are I'm sad to say still declining.