As I drew into the car park at work this morning my attention was grabbed by the incessant calling of young birds. I eventually located the source, high in one of the boundary trees. The unmistakeable home of a great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). I could hear the young, but couldn’t see them.
I was back there at lunchtime and spent a fruitless hour staring up into the tree. The calling was continuous, and by watching the adult I eventually figured out that the young were lurking somewhere slightly higher up the branch. Cue walking round a tree for five minutes. No luck. They are certainly up there, but the higher branches are shrouded with leaf cover and I suspect the current nesting point is on the upper side of the limb. Try as I might I saw absolutely nothing.
As the end of my lunch hour approached I headed back to work, pausing by a small area at the other side of the car park. Some small birds were on a feeder, and then – finally – a woodpecker appeared. It’s the male and was busy tapping away at a tree, presumably in search of insects. Perfect!
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
