Look who popped in for a visit...

[Adywebb]

A young Great Spotted Woodpecker decided to pop into my conservatory this afternoon for a nosey:

Theres been a number feeding in the garden for the last few weeks on my feeders, but this one looks like he decided to have a look around the house as well.

After a while I managed to coax him out of the door again

 

[Ian]

I bet that gave you a shock! Mucks is going to be jealous, he has to go and seek wildlife rather than the other way round

At least he didn't peck any holes in anything

One of my roommates at university had a crow fly in to her room (though a window that only opens slightly, so no idea how!) - we had to capture it to get it out in the end, and it made one heck of a noise!

 

[nivrip]

Lovely pic Ady.

Interesting pose he's adopted - looks like he couldn't get his claws round, or into, anything. Never heard of one indoors before.

 

[Taffycat]

Aww, he is very cute. Those are good pics Ady - we have seen a couple in our garden recently too, haven't had any popping indoors yet though

 

[muckshifter]

 

[floppybootstomp]

Great pix

 

[Anon_F]

Great Pics.

 

[captain zed]

Most likely he was looking for your cider stash!!
Zzzzz

 

[Adywebb]

Lovely pic Ady.

Interesting pose he's adopted - looks like he couldn't get his claws round, or into, anything. Never heard of one indoors before.

He couldn't seem to find anything to perch on - then he flew and gripped against the back wall (exposed brick) and looked much more natural...tried to get a pic of that but he was too quick and out the door again

Great pix

Was using your old Nikon S500

Most likely he was looking for your cider stash!!

No chance - thats well hidden!!

 

[captain zed]

He couldn't seem to find anything to perch on - then he flew and gripped against the back wall (exposed brick) and looked much more natural...tried to get a pic of that but he was too quick and out the door again


Was using your old Nikon S500


No chance - thats well hidden!!

Thats the first real live woodpecker i ever saw. Except for the cider ads. Did ya call him woody or would 'e like that .....is he still hanging about your house?? I had a hedge hog in my front garden the other night but i left him alone....he was gone the next morning though....ah well.
Zzzzz

 

[Adywebb]

Thats the first real live woodpecker i ever saw. Except for the cider ads. Did ya call him woody or would 'e like that .....is he still hanging about your house?? I had a hedge hog in my front garden the other night but i left him alone....he was gone the next morning though....ah well.
Zzzzz

He's gone from the house, but he and others are still regularly coming and pecking at the fat balls on my bird-feeders in the garden - I'll try and get a pic tomorrow

 

[Adywebb]

Managed to get a pic today of what I think is the the same one on the feeder - its not great due to the distance:

I'll tell you what....I reckon having a Woodpecker perched on your fatballs could be painful

 

[floppybootstomp]

I'll tell you what....I reckon having a Woodpecker perched on your fatballs could be painful

It certainly could

I wonder if I'd attract any birds with a feeder on my patio? (No wise-ass comments you lot )

Mind you, at the first sign of a pigeon, it'd have to go, I don't care much for pigeons.

 

[Madxgraphics]

It certainly could



, I don't care much for pigeons.

You and me both. Vermon they are....

 

[Abarbarian]

Adywebb yer very lucky , I.ve never ever seen a real live woody out in the wild. Heard em but never seen em.

 

[floppybootstomp]

As unusual as it may seem this here City boy has often seen woodpeckers in the wild.

On one platform of Woolwich Dockyard mainline railway station is a steep tall slope with lots of woodland, trees, bushes, rubber tyres, supermarket trolleys and stuff that supports a whole host of wildlife.

And I often saw woodpeckers towards the top of these tall spindly trees with very little foliage pecking away. Noisy buggers they are.

The same land was also host to lots of other birds including magpies and robins and also a whole family of foxes, who often used to just stand and stare at us railway passengers.

I also saw an owl once in the wild, whilst working on a pipeline near Lullingstone in Kent.

But the only Badger I've ever seen has been a squashed one on a mainline road.

It would be good to see a badger one day

 

[Taffycat]

I wonder if I'd attract any birds with a feeder on my patio? (No wise-ass comments you lot )

Mind you, at the first sign of a pigeon, it'd have to go, I don't care much for pigeons.

If you just provided some hanging-type feeders, I wouldn't think pigeons would bother too much, (just so long as you kept the deck swept of any dropped seeds, of course.)

Apart from the small birds you'd expect to attract, you might get some starlings - they are surprisingly good at acrobatics. They swing around on the feeders almost as well as the bluetits do. I suppose they have to be inventive to survive.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Thanks TC. Starlings eh? We have a flock of somewhat agressive starlings inhabiting the local Asdas car park, fousands of 'em.

There are that many I think they may be considered pests, though I'm not sure about that.

I quite like starlings myself but not really in those large numbers.

I am reminded of the Hitchcock film

 

[Taffycat]

I like Starlings too, they are the garden comedians and we have a lot of Starling babies at the moment - you should hear them chattering! You might find this surprising:

Long term monitoring by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) shows that starling numbers have fallen by 66% in Britain since the mid-1970s. Because of this decline in numbers, the starling is red listed as a bird of high conservation concern.

Excerpt from the RSPB website

 

[muckshifter]

It would be an interesting 'experiment' to see what you could attract to a couple of bird feeders in your local ... oh, and you will get some pigeons & doves, which can look like pigeons , the 'real' ones are one of the few birds you can feed bread to, and it won't harm them. Always make sure your garden birds have access to fresh water.

Birds, like thrushes blackbirds & starlings, even tits, love fruit, don't throw your apple core away in the bin, just chuck it out in the garden, same with pears and other soft fruits.

Great spotted woodpeckers, thrushes, wrens and tits will eat fats, including suet. But do not use polyunsaturated fats. Make your own using "real" lard, just melt it down and chuck in BSA (bits scraps allsorts, no bread) ... woodpeckers especially love 'fat-balls' and will spend a lot of time visiting you if you drill a few big holes in a big bit o' wood and fill 'em with fat.

Please, if you is gonna feed birds, especially at your local pond, DON'T USE BREAD ... it isn't good for them, attracts rodents and fowls the water. Grain, or wild bird food, is more beneficial to all.

... and you can feed your 'garden' birds all the year round too.