Woodpeckers are now feeding at the nest entrance

The great spotted woodpeckers are now feeding at the nest entrance as the parents return regularly wth beaks full of ants and their eggs & larvae.

Male great spotted woodpecker and chick.

Male great spotted woodpecker and chick.

Beautiful Demoiselle

After a couple of hours staring at the woodpeckers nest this afternoon I finally cracked and went for a wander along the river bank where kingfishers were dashing up and down frantically feeding a brood in their nesting burrow.
The golden flash of the female beautiful demoiselle caught my eye and despite not bringing my trusty macro lens I made the standard 18-70mm suffice.

Female Beautiful Demoiselle

Great spotted woodpeckers this afternoon

These great spotted woodpeckers are nearly ready to fledge and are starting to put their heads out of the nesthole in search of the returning parent with its beak full of grubs/wood ants/spiders etc.

Great spotted woodpecker male with a beak full of wood ants

 

 

 

 

Great spotted woodpecker female feeding an insistant chick.

 

Great spotted woodpecker female feeding an insistant chick.

Another day and more woodpeckers

Was at the nest site for the green woodpeckers this morning. They are feeding small young and are not as regular as the great spotted's. There was about an hour between visits from the male bird and only once did I get a brief view of the female.

 

 

Male Green Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

Male Green Woodpecker

I'm sure I can fit in this hole!

I need to diet!

Another Great Spotted Woodpecker!

I can't get enough of these great birds. They are feeding young in earnest and the chicks are starting to come close to the nest entrance hole. My ultimate target photo is one where the chick has its head out of the hole with the adult beside it with a beak full of green caterpillars..... here's hoping!
But for now.......

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Woodpeckers galore!

A late  start gave me some poor lighting on a nest site for green woodpeckers this afternoon. Luckily the male bird stayed on the tree long enough to fire off  few frames. Four hours later and another visit to the nest of the male which I missed completely and a stiff neck for peering up to the top of a tree for all that time!

Still, a couple of pics below followed by a couple of great spotted woodpeckers nesting which I took this evening just a few miles from home. The evening light illuminated the nesting tree very well. Hopefully some more of these birds will follow as the birdscontinue in feeding their broods.

Male green woodpecker

Male green woodpecker

Female great spotted woodpecker.

Male great spotted woodpecker.

Grey Wagtails

My thanks to Andy B. for the tip off on these Grey Wags that are building a nest alongside the river Camel.

After spending most of the morning driving around looking for a Redstart nest in an old barn wall that I'd been told about I'd just about given up for the day until I remembered this site where I saw the wags carrying nest material and watched them mating.
Unfortunately I didn't get the best angle on the copulating pair as I was at the top of the riverbank looking down on them but hey, so what, I watched them getting the business done and can now re-visit the site when they start feeding young.

Grey squirrel at Respryn

As so often happens in public park areas squirrels are used to people feeding them. This one was feeding naturally and sat just far enough away that it felt safe.

Great spotted woodpecker at Lanhydrock

Not a close up shot but just sitting naturally on an oak branch posing.

Blue Tit nesting at Lanhydrock

Spotted this blue tit nesting in a natural hole in a large oak tree. Makes a pleasant change from seeing them to-ing and fro-ing from nest boxes.
I know the bird leaving the nest is blurred but I love the way it looks as if its just chucked itself out into the open air.

Bodmin Moor birds on show

A quick vist to Bodmin moor this morning proved well worth the trip as wheatears were in abundance and the tip-off of a pair of nesting treecreepers paid dividends with some decent photos.
This was not the place that I'd readily associate with treecreepers but this pair were nesting in a low position on a well pecked tree and were photographed using the car as a hide initially and then by a small sit-in one man hide.
I think these birds had read the textbook as it was a classic nest site!

 

 

Great spotted woodpecker

I've been watching this nest site for a while now and am awaiting the hatching of young as I reckon there could be some good shots to follow when they start feeding and visiting the nest regularly.

Tawny Owl

Just got back in the car from photographing the reed warblers when Ed phoned with ongoing good views of a Tawny Owl on the outskirts of town. Can't turn down an opportunity like that so here's the proof below.

Reed Warblers on the River Camel

Spent a few hours trying to get clear shots of a reed warbler through the ever moving reeds this morning. There was one hell of an easterly blowing down the valley so the poor birds were doing all their singing from the bottom of the reeds rather than climbing up them.
Luckily one decided to use the adjacent oak tree as a singing perch.

More sunlight, more frogs

Please don't mention the invasive pond weed, its just the ideal backdrop for the frog to peer through.