I drove the short distance to Gonalston this morning to take a few pictures of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers which have been coming to feeders in a private garden. Adult birds have been reported from this site for about three weeks but I never managed to connect with the birds even though I stood watching the feeders for three hours at a time over a number of days. Wrong feeders...wrong garden! Yesterday was an Open Garden day at Gonalston so an opportunity presented itself to find the right garden. After only a couple of minutes I was watching an adult and a juvenile Lesser Spotted Woodpecker feeding in the right garden. The owners were brilliant...lots of feeders, fantastic garden, very friendly and accommodating. There were loads of people wandering around the garden but the peckers didn't seem to be too fazed unlike the Great Spotted Woodpeckers which would not come down to the feeders whilst so many people were present. The owners of the garden invited a friend of mine back this morning so I tagged along to get some photos. The male and one juvenile were feeding quite regularly but there was no sign of the female. Earlier there were three birds, possibly another juvenile or the female although I have heard it said that the female tends to feed away from the male. A specific feeding strategy of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers.
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
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| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus minor. Adult feeding Juvenile. Gonalston, Notts. June 2014 |
Nice pics mate, Are they still there?
ReplyDeleteCheck the Notts birders website at www.nottsbirders.net. News is updated daily.
DeleteThe best place to check is the Notts Birders website at www.nottsbirders.net News is updated daily.
ReplyDeleteGlorious pics! Would you be willing to disclose location to two responsible, respectful women birders who've never seen a LSW? Happy to give you email address. Thanks! Kitty
ReplyDeleteI have only just noticed this request (July 25th) I am not sure that the birds are still attending the feeders, If you send your email address I can supply you with some info and you could contact the owners to see if the birds are still feeding.
ReplyDelete