A juvenile male great spotted woodpecker feeding

While working at my desk I heard the sound of two birds not far from my window which was ajar. I thought it might be woodpeckers so I stepped up to the window and slowly peered out, and down to where the suet feeder hangs off the trellis just below. Sure enough I saw a great spotted woodpecker feeding through the wire cage, but then was delighted to see on the trellis that there was another head, crowned with red feathers indicating a male, which was almost certainly a juvenile.

I quickly went downstairs but knew that my camera was in the dining room. If I went into the dining room to fetch it I would be certain to disturb the birds. So I used my phone’s camera and zoomed in, which in the past I’ve had trouble holding still. I stood in the inner doorway into the dining room and watched, but only managed one frame featuring both birds. I’ve posted it as an ‘Extra’.

The adult female then flew away, but I don’t think I’d disturbed it as the young male quickly flew onto the feeder to have a go itself. It manoeuvred round the sides of the feeder before finally ending up underneath. After a about two minutes of pecking and grabbing the pellets, it suddenly seemed to freeze and just hung upside down in the same place, as if too full to eat more. It’s belly certainly seems quite large. 

I’ve noticed they feed constantly unlike many smaller birds which are too afraid to stay on the feeder for fear of being chased. Bullfinches don’t follow such an observation, being quite happy to chomp away for as long as they like, Sadly their beaks, like all finches, are too large to feed through this size of wire mesh. When I’ve have put suet pellets on a hanging tray the bullfinches love to visit and feed directly from the tray by standing on the rim.

This was the first time this season that I’ve seen a parent woodpecker guiding its young around a feeder. I think it has learnt enough now to become independent. I think the chatter I’d heard from my desk earlier was reminiscent of a baby woodpecker demanding food from its parent.