Woody is back!

(click to enlarge)

After the atrocious weather of the last couple of days the weather has improved slightly though there are still strong gusts of wind. Haven't seen too many birds over this period, mainly the Chaffs, Robin and Blackies. Looking out of the kitchen window this morning however I noticed a flash of black and white in a neighbour's cherry tree and a quick look through the binos confirmed the return of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. After a minute or two he had flown into our Rowan tree where he appeared to be looking for insects. A closer inspection through the glasses and I was able to see that it was an adult male with the distinguishing red patches. He was soon off again and from past experience I can tell he is very sensitive to movements around about him. He had not been gone too long when the birds at the feeders scattered very quickly and I noticed an object flash across the back garden and though I did not see it clearly it could only have been the Sparrowhawk in pursuit of his breakfast. I later saw him again chasing something over the garden fence. Not much else to report apart from a couple of Blue Tits on our Tibetan Cherry tree.