Return of the Woodpecker

The bird feeder remains popular with the local birdlife, but we hadn't seen the woodpecker in quite a while. He was back though yesterday and now in full adult plumage*:

*Only worked out that our first encounter was with a juvenile by looking more closely at the RSPB website, to find out why the crown of red feathers was now a patch at the back of the head.

Wildlife

Wildlife is becoming a big part of our lives. One of the first things we did was put up a bird 'feeding station' outside the kitchen window, and it attracts a wide range of garden birds, including Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robins (one of which spent a lot of time attempting to assert ownership; eventually he got tired of chasing all the other birds away!), a small Sparrow colony, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, and the occasional Rook. The Great Spotted Woodpecker pictured on the left was a more exotic visitor, although not exactly rare according to the RSPB.

Then there was the day we came home and discovered the baby Collared Doves under and above the wooden arch - once they learnt to fly properly we saw a lot less of them . . .

Just the other day we found a Common Toad in the greenhouse . . .

And of course, there's always the bunnies . . .