strange bird

[goose64]

Have had a strange bird visit the garden in southampton over the last few days, no photograph i'm afraid but can give a fairly good description . . . . not quite as big or fat as a pigeon, long straight beak, black face with scarlet red crown, buff light yellowy breast and mid grey wings . . . it is a very noisy squawky bird, which is what drew my attention to it in the first place.

Any ideas anyone . . . is it something to do with the heatwave?!!

[Jonners]

Hello Goose, and welcome to WAB. Your bird could be a green woodpecker, possibly juvenile, methinks. Hope that helps.

[goose64]

thanks jonners - good shout - not 100%, but a picture of the male head is spot on, my camera is ready for his next visit . . .

[Hedgehoggy]

Or a juv Great Spotted Woodpecker? (juvs had red crowns) A few weeks ago my daughter called out that there was a strange looking duck making a funny quacking noise on the grass in our garden - it was a juv GSW!! First time I've seen a GSW on the ground and it did look rather odd and out of place there. I'm more used to seeing them shimmy down the tree trunks to the feeders

[wildherbalian85]

funny thing is a woodpecker is what sprung to my mind too

[tcvarlh]

wiki has a shot of a juvenile Picus Viridis which might interest you Green Woodpecker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I haven't found many other shots of youngsters but it does seem to be the one.

[John]

Here are a couple of photos of Green Woodpeckers showing both male & female I took at Minsmere a few years ago. You should tell from this photo if it is the bird you saw.



Close ups of a scruffy female taken in my front garden last year.


If you look at the top photos of the pair you will note that the bird on the top of the mating pair has a red chin strap under the eye. That's the male.

John