Tree bark damage

Not tar, no. Gaffer tape on its own would be better, but clear tape better still or actually nothing at all except to stop the woodpecker enlargingthe damage. As long as it is only a small percentage of the girth of the tree it is not a problem. It will heal if left alone.

Thank you very much

There are commercial products available to seal cuts when you have to trim trees, maybe these would work on this damage. A question though. What is a green woodpecker?

A not so common woodpecker bird that's green. Not so common as the greater spotted woodpecker (one that's black/white and red)

I have to ask where in the US you are, Notsogreen. cause I am in the southeast and I've never heard of either of these birds. I see from wikipedia these are european and/or asian birds. where in the US are you seeing these? I don't mean to be so nosy but I love birds and birdwatching.

I am actually in North Essex, United Kingdom. The bird is called a Picus viridis (Green Woodpecker). A woodland bird that feeds on the ants' nests in lawns and insect larvae in tree trunks and branches.

O boy, on my laptop when I look at your avatar it says you are in the US. Totally confusing, but I guess that explains the problem, sorry about that!! We have a large woodpecker in the US that feeds the same way called a Flicker (Colaptes auratus). Anyway thanks for that info, I'm always interested to learn about birds!