Woodpeckers
Their good looks and work rate, a pleasure to watch
Male Great Spotted Woodpecker © Down the Lane
Woodpeckers are a member of the Wryneck and Woodpecker family. The two most seen around Gardens are the Great Spotted and the Green.
The Green Woodpecker.
In the Garden this wonderfully coloured bird will spend much time prodding it's beak into the ground searching for whatever bugs there are about.
The wood and pecker association is more to do with the fact they use their beaks to tap and drill a hole in the side of a tree for nesting purposes. If you look closely at a Woodpecker drilling a hole, you will see it uses it's stiff tail feathers to hold itself upright.
Away from the Garden they will mainly search for ants, beetles and other bugs hidden in crevices within a tree.
Photo 'Spotted Woodpecker pinching Peanuts!': '© Down the Lane
Great Spotted
I'm lucky to have these birds visit my Garden and it's very noticeable that the Great Spotted will not dig into the ground like the Green. It is however quite agile in so far as it will gladly cling on to the side of a Bird Feeder to get food.
They have a similar diet to the Green but in Summer will take bird eggs, nuts and some smaller fruits.
Another thing I have noticed with them is when they have arrived on my front Lawn, the younger one's have a tendancy to fly in almost any direction. Of all my Garden Bird Visitor's, it's these who have flown into my double glazed window the most. So if you're lucky enough to see some, protect the mirror image from the glass as much as possible. I realised this too late.
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