Above - Green Woodpecker notes.
A sunny clear warm day with a light NW2 changing to SE2 in the afternoon.
At 8am I took Bunty for a walk out on the old runways at Boulmer. Later on the beach and coast path will be quite busy with holiday makers so I thought I would avoid them. The fields here were full of singing Meadow Pipits and Skylarks with a few Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers as backing. On our way a female Sparrowhawk slowly flew over followed by a Lesser Redpoll over head, 'chit-chitting' its way south.
On the return journey( its a 'there and back' route from this end) I noticed a bird fly from the grass and head away from me. Although quite distant and in silhouette, I knew this was a woodpecker and, for a second, I thought it was a Great Spot from one of the telegraph poles. Then I realised that this was a bigger bird. Given a closer look through the bins, the first feature I saw was a lime /yellow rump. It was a Green Woodpecker! This is the first record for the site and quite an unlikely addition given the scarcity of the species in the county.
Not a rarity, but rarer than most. My 184th Boulmer species, and 202 for the total ( Still no Coot..).
94. Lesser Redpoll
95. Green Woodpecker.
3 comments:
We used to argue whether it was Professor Yaffle or Yattle.
I've never seen a woodpecker in the flesh before.
Hi MnM,
Go into any wooded area with some mature trees and you will see Great Spotted Woodpeckers. The are usually quite well up in the trees and they go 'puk' or 'cluk' like a Starling. Watch for the black and white as they flick between the branches. In places like Hulne Park or even quite small woods with large deciduous trees you can see two or three without much trouble.
Greens are another matter. Try the Harthope Valley near Wooler...
Cheers, S...
heard the green lots of times on Friday, but it refused to show...
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