Woody woodpecker

they never sit still long enough for me to get a picture, by the time I see them and realise they are there and I jump up and get my camera they see me and fly off. Beautiful bird beautiful picture :o)

Well done Sticki, smashing picture.

I missed a perfect opportunity to photograph a little Wren singing at the tip of a branch...I had left my battery in the charger at home!

Nevertheless, it's a good shot Sticki

thats what usually happens to me olive although we dont get these at home
thank you HB and Sheila and Pimms
arent they frustrating when you miss them, thats the picture that stays in my head all day!!
thank you everyone

very nice shot Sticki, love the colours on these...

Stunning a beautiful bird ,well caught Sticki ....

thanks SL and Amy ~ the feeders were approximately 15 feet from the hide??? [not good at estimating] lovely to see them!

Amazing picture! Love it!

Im wondering if they had drilled holes into the trunk of the tree and filled it with food? there was a feeder right next to this attached to the tree but that didnt give such a good view

thanks michaella

Great pic!!
They eat the insects from the bark of the tree Sticki. Thus the 'pecking'. Think woodpeckers prefer the live bugs to the seed....think.

thats probably what he found then thanks lil!

there was a wooden post with holes drilled in, very close to the hide ~ thats why i wondered.

No problem Sticki.....love to spread the knowledge ;) ;) ;) Now just wait and see, someone will come along and correct me :)

WOOOW! what a smashing shot Sticki :)

i dont think anyone else from GoY was there Lil so you should be fine!!!

thanks sue!

Are you sure Sticki.........you know how some of them like lurking in the shadows ;)
Myself included at times :)))

Were you there Lil?

You are taking some seriously good photos Sticki.
And how's about a mosaic making date soon?

yes please lulu! that would be lovely

Choose a date. You can see the foals too. We have been waiting for a mare to foal for weeks...D & I are exhausted watching the monitor through the night!

soon after easter??
you poor things ~ cant it have a bleep on it? would a sound or baby monitor be better???

Fantastic photo Sticki,

thanks yorks ~ its a great place to see the birds ~ you just sit and wait for them to come to you!!

we have a pair of bull finches keep coming in the garden, they fasinate me,

how lovely, they are beautiful birds

The mare now has a harness which alarms when their heartbeat goes up and they start sweating! She may foal tonight......

clever technology ~ exciting too!!
hope it goes well, at this rate you could call the foal Snowy??

great pic once again sticki ,you can drill holes in any dead tree and press in peanuts they soon get used to comeing to get them cheers pete

thanks pete ~ outside the kitchen window is an area of woodland [not belonging to us] and right in front of the window is a dead tree, i think that might be suitable??

surrounding it is holly and ivy that are quite thick, not sure whether to cut some of that back so I can see further into the wood??

yes sticki give it a go i have a pr everyday in my garden in spring they come on the coconuts i hang up ,they seem to love them maybe feed their chicks on it ?? i also bought a food block with mealworms in it they love them too cheers

oh thank you ~ i will try that. they used to nest in the woods, i know because i could see the nest and the baby but that was a few years ago

Beautiful shot! I have one of these occasionally visiting my peanut feeders and fat slabs that I have for my feathered friends. Love to watch him dancing around in the trees and scooting up and down the branches until its clear enough in the garden for him to pounce! Really great picture!

thanks shenuk, sadly this isnt in my garden but you never know, perhaps i will get some in the wood nearby???

Another lovely pic Sticki. Where I walk the dogs, I have been hearing their drumming for about a week...can't see them though:-( Maybe the lesser spotted, I believe they're sparrow sized so would be difficult to see:-)

is that the green one? i would say they are bigger than these,
there used to be one near here, you could hear it but its a long time since i have seen it!!

I think they look like greater spotted...but lesser lol:-) I think I mentioned, in a comment somewhere else, the one that visited my garden accompanied by a cuckoo? I was so thrilled, but perplexed...then the penny dropped...cuckoo egg laid in woodpecker nest:-)

I don't like cuckoos any more, watched it on tv, as a tiny bird it just pushes the other eggs over the side. Cruel.

A cuckoo's gotta live Sticki and they are rather miraculous birds, though becoming scarce. Apparently, once hatched, they automatically know which 'I need food' noise to make for whichever bird becomes their adoptive mother. All chicks have a different call. No one knows how they do it, otherwise they'd starve. You could say all baby cuckoos are innocent, they don't ask to have a callous mother lol :-)

its the baby that kicks the others out of the nest!!! sorry BA i just dont like it!!

B.A.P.R. has been given the job improving the image of the cuckoo. Now Stick, I have watched many wildlife programs and have noticed that baby birds are all callous. The larges chick will take the lions share and yes, will also. on occasion, kick out its siblings...and they're related! How am I doing? I realise all I'm saying is that birds do not have a moral compass and boss each other about and attack each other over food and territory, but that is my case...and I'm resting it:-) I must admit I have mixed feelings about birds of prey too, but then I remember it's lovely pussy cats that do the most harm and I love them, hypocritical as I'm :-))

Im sure you are right BA but i cant forgive that big fat baby cuckoo that couldnt even see rolling the egg of the other bird out and over the nest edge
can you imagine someone else's child rolling my baby out of the pram????

but yes i know ~ i love my cat and she is very unkind to birds, mice, shrews etc.

Sticki, Your baby was an egg???? I'm afraid you're suffering post traumatic stress syndrome and you must not watch any more nature programs. So it was only an egg which was pushed out of the nest? I bet you eat eggs and I know you put them in cakes. Anyway, if as you say he couldn't even see...well perhaps he was practising his rugby skills...easy mistake to make:-)) Have I convinced you?:-)

oh no definitely not.

it was very deliberate.

I give up:-(

Sorry!

Ha! refreshed after a good nights sleep.

The cuckoo's disappearing
No more we'll hear his call
Which tells us winter's over
Time to garden Goyers all!

For Sticki has been dabbling
With candle book and bell
To rid the World of cuckoos
Oh what a wicked spell!

The poor old Swiss clock maker
what will he use instead?
A cuckoo clock sans cuckoo?
He might as well be dead.

And as for gentle pussy
What is that in her claws?
A songbird stopped from singing
But, due to natures laws?

And what did baby cuckoo do
That caused her so much ire?
Kill a living songbird?
Or set the nest afire?

No, he only he only looked around
A tidy babe it seems
and cleared the nest of rubbish
For spring cleaning's in his genes!

Published on behalf of B.A. Public Relations :-)

BA you are brilliant!!!!!!! that should give you an honorary degree!!!!

ok, so i like cuckoo clocks ~ is that alright.

ps where is your web site or your bookshop!!!!!?????

Sticki, If you need to improve your image, B. A. Public Relations Co. would be pleased to take your case at a very reasonable price. Max Clifford is shaking in his boots!:-)

he will no doubt run a mile!!!!

you should be the current poet laureate!!!!!

ps im a lost cause.

Great capture, well done.

so much easier from a hide DD!! but thank you

Fantastic shot!!!!!!!!!

thanks nana ~ did you like BA's poem?

Loved the comments Sticki and the photo is brill

thanks annella, just lucky.