On 16/06/2012 12:55, Jake wrote:
Now getting several visits a day from a group of 2 adult and 2 junior
greater spotted woodpeckers. The juniors are about the same size as
the adults, they just look a little fatter, and have almost the same
colouring.

They all land on a pergola from which a peanut feeder hangs. Then the
adults, which I think are a male and a female, take it in turns to
headbang for peanuts, fly back up to the top of the pergola and feed
one of the youngsters. I've noticed that each adult feeds a single
juvenile and there's no clamouring from the one not being fed, they
both wait patiently for the respective adult to feed them.

They've managed to slightly buckle the feeder but no serious damage
done (yet). If the rain stops and the glass clears in the windows I
might get a photo but they seem extremely alert to the slightest
movement so no chance of opening a window.

For such a hefty bird that scares everything else off the feeder they
are surprisingly nervous of any changes. They will eventually bend the
wire enough to get whole peanuts out and consumption will rocket.

Clean the window carefully and set the camera up in advance with a black
cloth wrapped around it to avoid major reflections.

The rarer lesser spotted woodpecker is even more fun. Think sparrow in
the same colour scheme and livery as the big one.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown