Wednesday 3 February 2010

Green Woodpecker 3rd February

This is the second time this female Green Woodpecker has visited my garden lately but this time it stayed a lot longer and came a bit nearer to the house.

I think it has discovered just how soft and damp our back garden is and how much food is there for anything equipped with a dagger like bill and a long sticky tongue.


Particular attention was paid to an area at the back of the pond where it fed almost non stop for about twenty five minutes. I'm not sure what it found to hold it's attention for so long but it must have been worth it.



I got a good chance to watch this wary bird for quite a while and was struck by the conflict of needing to have it's head down to feed (as above) while at the same time being constantly alert to the danger of predators, it never kept it's head down for more than a couple of seconds before looking up and around again, i'm not surprised they are so hard to get close to.


Sorry about all the pictures, which I took through the patio doors, but I couldn't resist it for such a stunning bird.









6 comments:

Forest the Bear said...

Phil, that is a fantastic collection of shots. I like that you have managed to capture the bird feeding, shows more of the birds behaviour.

Lets hope she visits some more!!

Forest

Greenie said...

Phil ,
Great shots of the Green Woodpecker .
As you say , a species very difficult to get near to , unless , like you , you get lucky .

Sharon said...

Great series of photos Phil!
Love the one where her beak has completely disappeared in the lawn - she may become a regular visitor, you never know!
I've only ever seen one once & that was briefly as it flew up from a neighbours garden!

Warren Baker said...

nice one phil,
I think they have had a hard time with all that frozen ground about earlier in the month.

Steve said...

Nice shots Phil. Great to have one in your garden

Phil said...

Thanks for all the comments. Just back from holiday today so only just seen them.