Vegetarian Spotted Wodpecker

[Beekeeper]

Near the bottom of my garden some years ago i planted a Kent Cob haselnut tree as i like haselnuts, every year the squirrels eat most of them and this morning, noticing a lot of activity with branches being disturbed, i thought they were back again.

Looking through my binoculars, i was suprised to see this little Woodpecker attacking haselnuts whilst still on the tree without any success, after a few minutes, i noticed the bird pick one from the tree and fly to a nearby post where it held the nut in one foot and attacked it with its beak.

I grabbed the camera and took a few shots through the kitchen window but unfortunately, due to distance and a very overcast start to the morning the pics i have are rather poor, but i have uploaded one anyway.

I now have the camera setup outside properly and the weather is much brighter so hopefully if the Woodpecker comes back i will update the thread.

Just for interest, i took a look at the bottom of the post and there was one small piece of haselnut shell at the foot of it, so i guess the Woodpecker was partially successful. The Haselnut tree is to the left of the picture.

BK

[aeshna5]

Great -spotted Woodpeckers are very partial to nuts- they are regular visitors to peanut feeders in many gardens.

Nice to observe anyway! The lucky few might get the much rarer Lesser-spotted on their feeders.

[Beekeeper]

Ah that you for that information aeshna5, i always assumed that they were exclusively insect eaters.

I learn something new every day coming on to this forum thanks to folks like yourself.

BK (Ian)

[BillyPilgrim]

I agree, the Great Spotted Woodpeckers are mad keen on nuts, especially peanuts. They are also very partial to peanut butter.

All of my best (closest) shots of these birds have come about by leaving either of these foods in/on the bark of a tree. If the tree has coarse bark you can wedge peanuts in between. If not a dollop of peanut butter will do.

In this photo I fastened a bit of branch to a bird table. I tried to hide the peanut butter but you can just see it below the branch.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major - Wildlife Photography


In this shot you can see that the bird has just removed one of the nuts from the bark of the tree.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major - Wildlife Photography

[Beekeeper]

BillyPilgrim, the second of your pictures is what i tried all day to get for myself yesterday but without success as Woody never returned, by the way they are great shots and i am envious.

Anyway, as my cob nut tree is loaded with nuts this year, hopefully he or she will come back.

BK

[BillyPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

BillyPilgrim, the second of your pictures is what i tried all day to get for myself yesterday but without success as Woody never returned, by the way they are great shots and i am envious.

Anyway, as my cob nut tree is loaded with nuts this year, hopefully he or she will come back.

BK

It can take a while for them to get the courage to come down so low. Winter is also the best time as food is more scarce.

There are a pair of GSW's near to a hide that I visit, which is where I took that photo. They were both very shy at first and would instantly fly off if they saw any movement or heard the sound of a shutter. After a weeks though they lost all their shyness and would happilly peck away whilst I was stood in the open taking photos from 15 feet away.

I'd persevere for a while of I were you and if you don't have any luck try again in the winter.

[Beekeeper]

Thank you for the advice BillyPilgrim, i did manage to get to withing 50 foot or so of him but he soon vanished when he realised i was approaching, they do seem quite timid birds, i shall just wait until the opportunity arises.

BK