Great Spotted Woodpeckers

 This week, we have had a male and female Great Spotted Woodpecker in our garden. First of all we saw the male and now it has mainly been the female. She seems a bit more confident every day and happily feeds on the peanut and suet feeders.


 They all have a red patch by their tail and a black and white body. The male has a red strip on the back of his neck, the female is all black and the juvenile has a big red patch on the top of his/her head. They have a very long tongue to get the bugs after making a hole with their beaks. The tip of his tongue is sensitive, bristly and sticky and can go 4cm past his/her beak. They eat insects and larvae that live in wood. In the winter they eat nuts and conifer seeds.





Woodpeckers make a nest in a dead or rotten tree and it can take 2-3 weeks to make their nest. The woodpecker hits the wood 15-16 times a second! To avoid brain damage, they have a shock-absorbing cushion between its skull and beak.

I hope to have some baby woodpeckers in the garden soon. I also have pictures of other baby birds but I'll leave that until next time. Also I am exited about Springwatch tonight on BBC 2 at 8pm.


Comments

  1. Nanny30 May 2021 at 19:04

    You are so lucky having a woodpecker visiting your garden, but I suppose if they wake you up in the morning with their tapping, it will be a bit annoying. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
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