Woodpeckers

A family of Green Woodpeckers have been around the common for the last few months. There appear to have been four young in the nest and these immature birds, with their dull plumage have remained near their nest site. The wood does not hold many woodpeckers, or nuthatches as the majority of the trees are relatively young and do not provide suitable timber for boring nesting holes. But clearly, one pair have again managed to raise a brood. Most people think of woodpeckers as arboreal creatures, but you are far more likely to see a green woodpecker on the open ground, though they will quickly fly into a tree once disturbed. The reason for this is because their main source of food is provided by the ants which nest in the ground. So these birds spend hours hopping around on their short legs looking for these small creatures and other invertebrates. It will be some time yet before they adopt the more colourful plumage of the adult bird, and then it will become an easier matter to sex them. The red on the head of the male a clear indication.