BIRD NEWS:251

I took quite a few photographs of the Great Spotted Woodpecker as I have never seen one in our back yard before. Other than at Arundel, I had never seen any live woodpecker before. This one was tucking into the stale pieces of home-made bread and cake that I had left in the bird feeder under the fat balls as if it were this birds' favored food.

According to my bird ID books, the favored food SHOULD be 'insects, larvae, nuts and berries, as listed and additionally fruit, and scraps from bird tables, seeds, baby birds, and tree sap. We can now add homemade bread/cake to that list!

This bird is also known as the pied woodpecker. They mainly inhabit woodland, forests, anywhere amongst trees. They are known to nest in tree holes, many of which they themselves create. You can tell a male from a female, in that the male does and female does not have a red patch on their head - therefore, my personal visitor was male!

The courting ritual includes both sexes tapping special noises on chosen sites and mid-air dancing. The birds are resident to the UK and generally remain solitary apart from during the breeding season. Their eggs are laid in May-June and are creamy-white in color. Generally, 3-7 are laid.