Great Spotted Woodpecker

[wiltsman]

No question, just an observation.

About half an hour ago I walked round the back of my bungalow just as a Great Spotted Woodpecker landed on the lawn. I don't know who was the most amazed, we looked at each other for a full second, maybe two, before it took off and flew away.

What a beautiful bird!

[Maydup]

Ahahh, a fellow sanctuary seeker in Swindon!

[Tilly2]

We have one that visits our garden every morning to feed on the peanut holder. Then it goes whizzing up the tree. They are lovely but a bit nasty with the poor old blue tits. I'd like to see a lesser spotted woodpecker. They ere quite rare I believe. They're about the size of a chaffinch, apparently.

[ladybirder]

How lovely for you. I wonder what he/she thought of you:-)

[FredPuli43]

There are, happily, plenty around here, South Cambridgeshire, but, oddly,I haven't seen a green woodpecker in ages. There was usually one to be seen rootling about on the lawn. Are green woodpeckers in sudden decline or is that just chance?

[paddywak]

The other way round in these parts Fred there are loads of greens but havenot seen any of the other types for ages.

[shoota]

We get green and spotted in our garden on occasion.
Unfortunately we are also plagued with screeching parakeets attacking the small birds and chasing them off the feeders which they then destroy.

[owdhamer]

Some years ago we were on holiday in the dordogne the weather was fine so we went for a sail on the river, i spotted a kingfisher diving and shouted and pointed "kingfisher" the rest of the boat being french not understanding just looked away shaking their heads

[owdhamer]

sorry getting my kingfishers and wood peckers confused

[wiltsman]

Seeing a Great Spotted is a rare occurrence for me. About half a dozen sightings a year if I'm lucky. I remember now, I did see one about a month ago pecking away at the peanut feeder.

Reading about the parakeets 'shoota', whereabouts do you live?

[shoota]

Live West London, we've got swarms of them round here. The people at Kew gardens are going spare and they are spreading like wildfire.

[shoota]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13524396

[tinkerbell23]

Wow! I get jelous of all you Abers tales
Of wildlife- im a "townie" never get any birds in my garden- mabye a robin once. No-one ate my seeds :0( no wee ladybugs no froggies :0( xx

[chi-chi66]

wiltsman
As long as you were'nt wearing spotted pyjamas at the time.....it would be thinking ..gawed!! thought I was the great spotted!! haha

[starone]

Good gracious, shoota, I didn't know they could live wild in this country. Perhaps they have adapted to the vagaries of our weather. I don't get many birds - just sparrows, pigeons, an occasional robin, a couple of ringed doves, blackbirds, and sometimes magpies. I put food and water out for them but as I live in a built up area I don't expect too much.

[shoota]

They should be in the Himalayas and I would be quite happy to take them back there, the noise they make is more intrusive than the jets from Heathrow and their beaks are so powerful they just rip open any ordinary seed/nut feeder. We now have feeders with a cage round them that small birds can get through but they can't.
They were a novelty once, now they are a bigger pest than the pigeons.