Psilos Bird Photography
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				Greater spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
		Without a shadow of a doubt the woodpecker is my favourite bird. Since being a little girl, listening to them drumming in the woods I have always been fascinated by them. They have a mysterious magical look all their own that other birds just dont have.     The bird in the photo above is a male identified from the red patch on the back of his head. This is absent in the female. He comes to the feeders about twice a day. The female only seems to put in an appearance in the spring when presumably she needs the extra protein for egg laying. The male in the photo below was one of two males (April 05) at the feeding station. One male was already on the feeder but he managed to challenge and drive the second male off.         The photo below shows the female woodpecker, identified by the lack of red to the back of her head. This is only the second time that I have seen her at the feeding station and it was wonderful to finally get to photograph her. She must be building up reserves ready for egg laying. (April 05)     and now that her babies have fledged she begins to visit the feeding station once more (July 05)     Male woodpeckers drum as a means to telling other males in the area that this is his territory. The louder the drum the more impressive the male appears. June 05 and this male comes to the feeders and begins drumming on the wire that is holding the feeder to the tree. It makes quite a different noise to that of wood and must not have been a very impressive sound as he soon lost interest in it.     and here is one of the juveniles from this years brood. (July 05)     and here is the same juvenile defending himself against a magpie. Usually the magpies chase everything away but this little fella put up a good defence.
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