Green Woodpecker

[R1Geezer]

Just seen one of these:
http://tinypic.com/r/2h7nzwz/7
In my garden, never seen one before, he was rummaging around in the snow, Any ideas why he's out of his normal habiat? Presumably somehing to do with he weather!

[NazNomad]

What is the habitat like where you live? Any parks around there?

[woofgang]

You may find that you get them more often than you see them. We get yaffles in our garden, also the spotted kind but they are very good at hiding, you only see them if you get too close and they fly off yelling or maybe you hear them pecking.
We lived in New Jersey US for a while (back in the UK now) We lived in a house that was totally wood except for the chimney, so which bit did the stupid woody peck at? Yup!
In the house it sounded like having your head in a bucket and someone hitting it.

[Milvus]

Green woodpeckers feed on open ground as well as trees. So you will get them in gardens sometimes. They don't drum with their beaks like the other two woodpeckers

[NazNomad]

I linked to this question in the Birding sticky ...

http://www.theanswerb...t/Question968860.html

[R1Geezer]

Yes there is a park and a golf course nearby, lot of trees generally, just never seen one on the ground before.

[NazNomad]

It wouldn't be unusual to see one in a garden is there's a park nearby, it was 'right place, right time' for you today. Nice one ... I've never seen one. :-((

[NazNomad]

You're not alone .. I guess they'll feed on the ground if there's food to be had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUwE1UFcqds

[NazNomad]

bugger the disabled embedding lol

[jomifl]

R1 I have a photo of six green woodpeckers looking for ants on the lawn outside the french windows of my previous house in southern Hampshire. They are quite common but shy and fly very quickly and directly from one tree to another so unless you know what a flying green woodpecker looks like you probably won't realise what you've seen. Usually they will see you before you see them. Their habitat is almost anywhere where there are a few trees.

[burnhal]

Green Woodies do drum.........though nowhere near as often or as loudly as their spooted cousins. They spend more time feeding on the floor.particularly ant hills- than feeding in the trees. Green woodies are also probably responsible for most mis-identification of golden orioles!!! A green woodie flying away shows a bright yellow rump. There has been many an occasion when excited friends have said they have just seen a golden oriole!!

[Andyvon]

I've occasionally seen green woodpeckers on the ground. I remember one last year when we stayed at St. Margaret's Bay holiday park near Dover. We would see a green woodpecker every morning and evening on the lawn outside our chalet walking around continually poking it's beak into the grass. We never saw what it was catching but we assumed it was grubs and insects. It seems it may have been ants from Jomifl's post.

[jaydah]

Theyre searching for bugs, I get the red ones as well

http://tinypic.com/vi...&tag=red%20woodpecker

[NazNomad]

Where are you, jaydah? Geographically.

[jaydah]

20m east of London in Bucks

[NazNomad]

You sure it's not Great, or Lesser, Spotted Woodpeckers you get?

http://www.flickr.com...485767@N08/5178850212

http://www.flickr.com...485767@N08/5178849356

[Chaffinch]

I live in Hampshire and green woodies are quite common round hear, and they do spend a lot of time feeding on the ground. The greater and lesser spodded woodies, will take nuts from the bird feeder, and once they've found it will visit several times a day

Love both types

[ethandron]

have just checked in my collins and there's absolutely nothing like that red headed woodpecker in it. very interesting.

[NazNomad]

It's not indigegenous to the UK ... Canada and USA, from what I can see.

[ethandron]

if it's turned up in bucks it's a bit out of its way, that's not to say odd birds don't turn up now and again. we saw a red breasted goose at martin mere a few weeks ago which is a pretty rare bird to see in britain.

[NazNomad]

Maybe jaydah can confirm if that is their photo of an actual sighting, or a guesstimate at a Great Spotted.