Woody

Eurasian Green Woodpecker (Picus viridus) - immature

We have a pair of Eurasian Green Woodpeckers (Picus viridus) somewhere in the village; we see them bounding over periodically, and hear them even more frequently. But they're wary and flighty, rocketing out of the garden as soon as they lay eyes on us, so it was a welcome surprise to get to spend some time with this youngster as it rummaged along the driveway a few weeks ago. It was slurping up the winged ants that were emerging from some of the ant nests in the garden wall. The heavy speckling on its breast and back — and the lack of black on its face — help to identify it as a youngster. Its colouring (primarily green) and size (largest of Britain's woodpeckers) help to distinguish it from the UK's two other woodpecker species, both of which are black and white. Primarily a ground feeder, it specialises on ants, though it will eat other invertebrates, fruit and pine seeds, particularly in the winter, when ants aren't readily available. Though it does spend time in trees, it seldom pecks at wood. Primarily a bird of southern Britain, it is common in England and Wales, quite scarce in Scotland and not found in Northern Ireland. Elsewhere (as its name suggests), it is found right across Europe and into western Asia. Hopefully, we'll be seeing this one, and its parents, regularly in the future.