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Tag Archives: juvenile Green woodpecker

203/365 Juvenile Green woodpeckers

22 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Green woodpecker, juvenile Green woodpecker

Two visits in a row I’ve seen this juvenile Green woodpecker and its parent in the same area at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. (You can tell it’s a juvenile by the dark streaking on its face and underparts.)

190722 green woodpecker (1)

it was checking out a Nuthatch further up the tree

It’s a small fenced off area where not too many people venture but that makes it all the more attractive to me. The lack of frequent foot traffic means it’s a good place to observe birds and butterflies, and I guess the adult woodpecker has also realised it’s a safer place for its offspring as the juvenile begins to make its own way in the world.

190722 green woodpecker (3)

the adult Green woodpecker

This is not the only juvenile Green woodpecker in the park at the moment. After seeing these two the other day, I also heard a lot of yaffling in another location and, as I approached, saw four Green woodpeckers fly up from the ground into the neighbouring trees. Whether that was two adults and two juveniles, or one adult and three juveniles, I’ve yet to discover.

190722 green woodpecker (2)

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Encounters with Green woodpeckers

13 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ Comments Off on Encounters with Green woodpeckers

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Green woodpecker, juvenile Green woodpecker, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Picus viridis

180813 Green woodpecker (2)

I’m sure I’ve written before on here that Green woodpeckers can be darn tricky to get good views of. They’re very skittish birds, taking fright and flying off at the slightest noise, yaffling as they go.

180813 Green woodpecker (3)

So, I was really thrilled at Lavernock Nature Reserve last Wednesday to get quite close to two of these beautiful birds. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I had seen the same bird in different parts of the reserve, as the sightings were an hour apart, or whether these were two different birds, but a close look at their facial markings has confirmed they are different – a real bonus!

180813 Green woodpecker (1)

I think the reason I did manage to get reasonably near both times is that these are juvenile Green woodpeckers (Picus viridis) – you can tell that from the black mottling in their plumage – so they haven’t yet learnt to fear all humans or, perhaps, their senses aren’t yet as acutely honed as their parents’.

180813 Green woodpecker (4)
180813 Green woodpecker (5)
180813 Green woodpecker (6)

These are both male birds – you can tell from the red feathers in the ‘moustache’ markings on either side of their beaks. And both were intent on feeding on ants from the many anthills that dot the wildflower meadows at Lavernock (as you can see in the very short video below). Perhaps that’s another reason why they were not so concerned about me.

Green woodpecker feeding

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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