Great Spotted Woodpecker

One of the most exotic birds now making regular visits to UK bird tables is Dendrocopos major.

It is of course better known as a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers are about the same size as Starlings. They are common birds of parkland and woodland but often feed in gardens. Great Spotted Woodpecker juveniles have red foreheads that are replaced by black as they moult in the autumn. Adult males then have a red nape but females have no red on their head at all and all these differences in plumage are easy to see.

From that information I have deduced that this particular visitor is a juvenile – and he/she is one of a brood of three raised by a couple living in a small copse to the south of our home – they are all regular visitors to the TWOOTZ peanuts which remain a popular staple throughout the whole year.

While we try to vary the overall contents of our bird tables peanuts are always welcome by a wide variety of birds with many species learning how to hang on and break up the nuts to eat – this means that the Dunnocks and other ground feeders can pick up the dropped pieces.