Thursday 7 April 2011

Bird sighting - Woodpecker

I managed to get a couple of pictures of a Woodpecker today. They are not particularly good photos - taken hurriedly at fairly long range, and without the benefit of a tripod. These photos I am posting are zoomed, so they look very grainy. But there is no doubt about it, they are of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker.


My "British Birds - A Field Guide" book tells me that this was a male. The female lacks the red bar on the nape of its neck, which you can just about make out in the next photo.


This bird is not particularly rare, but it is very mobile and very shy, and thus quite difficult to photograph. I see them in my garden every couple of months or so. I hear them more often. They hammer on the trees with their bills, and the noise can be very loud.

This one sat in the Maple tree in my garden for five minutes or so, changing position frequently as it searched for grubs, and I had to open the door very gently to avoid frightening him off.

9 comments:

  1. Lovely to see wildlife in the garden. I tend to get so engrossed I only remember the camera after they've gone.

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  2. I love to spot woodpeckers! I don't think we have that particular one, but I have spotted 3 different ones this year...the Downy woodpecker, which is sparrow size, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, robin size, and the Pileated Woodpecker which is huge, like a big crow! I could never get photos, though, so lucky you, Mark!

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  3. Good shot, Mark!
    I know how difficult taking a photo of wild animals, birds, and insects is.
    It might require a good luck to encounter shy, sift and beautiful creatures.

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  4. I love the way the red of the tree (blossoms?) matches the red of the woodpecker - very obliging of the woodpecker think of that. Are they really loud?

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  5. How wonderful to get woodpeckers in your garden. I try to encourage different birds in to my garden but I've never seen a woodpecker yet.

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  6. We once had a Great Spotted woodpecker in our garden which I got a photo of. I had a similar problem to you as I didn't have a camera that has as good a range as I do now even though it would have been nearer to me than your bird appears to be.

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  7. I used to see woodpeckers here all the time when I first moved in but we don't see them anymore.

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  8. Cute...I saw some of the pileated woodpeckers the other day. I only see them in the spring because the trees fill in, and I cannot spot them as easily anymore.

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  9. Good spot we've not had any in our garden yet.

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