Christine's walking & birds blog

I stayed in most of the day doing domestic stuff, and felt too shivery to go out later. But Greger announced he would like to try and see the woodpecker again, so we drove to the woods. It was rather late really, quite dark in the woods, and very windy. We heard a lesser-spot several times but it was always distant.

Staring in the direction of the call we could see only a treecreeper sitting motionless on a silver birch trunk. A sudden flapping behind us made me start to say "Blasted pheasant!" - but it was a woodcock, winging away low through the trees. It must have been resting right by the path, close to where I saw the woodpecker yesterday.

Yesterday: After a day of chores I paid a late-afternoon visit to the woods. A lesser spotted woodpecker was heard calling ahead - and suddenly she was there, low down and right next to the path. But there were too many twigs in the way for a picture, and she flew off through the trees.