Woodpeckers

[thugulike]

Since I first put up my bird feeders I have been visited by many lesser and greater spotted woodpeckers and we had the babies in the spring too. Now there are none visiting the feeder at all. Is this normal? Where are they?

[patsyann]

Parents hav taught the babies how to feed the easy way. Now they are out in the woods learning to be proper woodpeckers. They will be back when winter sets in. Ours come back every year. So exciting .

[thugulike]

Thank you, I miss them, they are so much fun. They chase all the other birds away but the collared doves are more resilient and there are often beak fights. Can't wait for them to come back. Watching mum trying to show babies how to cling to the feeder was amazing, babies just wanted to be fed.

[Chipchopper]

I saw one yesterday (G S W) tapping away at some dead branches in the top of an old oak tree, digging out grubs.
I expect your ones might be doing the same, but I'm sure they'l be back when the weather turns.

[thugulike]

Yes we get both LSW and GSW. The feeder is quite close to the house and I was amazed to see the GSWs so close but a few months later the wee fellows arrived. The are more cautious and tend to come later in the evening when the =feeder is quieter. I have no near neighbours and am surrounded by huge oaks and other large trees

[ethandron]

We heard some drumming a couple of days go and on first look it appeared to be a lesser spotted...turned out to be a nuthatch. I didn't know they did the drumming.

[melv16]

The drumming you heard from the nuthatch is when the bird jams a nut into a crevice on a tree trunk. It then knocks 3 bells out of it to get to the kernel.

[ethandron]

Interesting Melv, thanks

[thugulike]

We see a nuthatch but only rarely, plenty of birds of prey and we saw a jay one night. We moved from Cumbria to north Shropshire so some of the species are different and I'd never seen a jay before.

[ethandron]

We have two nuthatches, they're young ones which are gradually getting their adult colours. We get jays fairly often too.
Isn't it lovely when you see a bird you've not seen before?

[melv16]

I made a woodpecker feeder by getting a 4" dia log about 3' long. I then drilled 16mm holes in it with a zip bit. Melt some lard, along with peanuts and sunflower seeds. Fill the holes with the fat/nut mixture. Let it set and hang it from a post or tree.

[ethandron]

Our greater spotted quite happily taps away on the square fat thing in the square fat thing holder, he/she stays there for anything up to ten minutes.

[jambutty]

Lovely to have around, but I wouldn't like them chasing all the other birds away, they get hungry too.

[thugulike]

jambutty the woodies come either mid morning or early evening when there are few other birds around. There are shrubs around the feeder and they just wait their turn. My woodies never touch the fatballs though, only peanuts are taken.

[jambutty]

Aww I'm glad the others get a look in thugu. I'd really miss my little flock of sparrows and blue and great tits if they were chased away. Only ever seen woodies in my local park, but not often.

[wildwood]

I am really envious of all you lucky people who get these wonderful birds to visit your gardens.

[ladybirder]

How lucky are you thugulike getting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. I get regular GSW visiting (and Jays) but never LSW's. You probably know they are on the RSPCA's RED ALERT list as endangered so you are honoured indeed. I'm attaching a link to the BTO which explains brilliantly how to tell the Lessers and Greats apart. Interestingly they say that the vast majority of reports of sightings of LSW's turn out after further investigation to be identified as juvenile GSW's. I'm not disbelieving you when you say you have them in your garden, I'm jealous, but my link is the best I've seen in identifying them apart.

https://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/bto-bird-id-great-lesser-spotted-woodpeckers

[thugulike]

I've just watched the video and am now convinced that we do have, rarely, LSW as visitors. Thank you so much ladybirder

[ladybirder]

So pleased you watched it and so jealous. Shropshire is it you live? Hmmm, might have to think about a move;-))