Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Remember our visiting kingfisher from earlier this year?.. Well we have a new visitor, and although maybe not as striking and iconic, she's is a real beauty and a rarity to see!

Above is a photo of a lesser spotted woodpecker, a rare sight around here, and the first one I have ever seen in the wild! This is a female, she lacks the red "crown" that the males wear, and has been seen in our otter ponds pretty much everyday now for the past couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago Izzy was feeding the otters, and heard a "pecking"noise. When looking she saw this little bird drilling away on one of the bullrushes, looking for grubs. She is a lovely little thing, and has been happily posing in front of cameras the past weekend and is not too bothered by the otters at all. If you are lucky enough to see here yourself this weekend, just be quiet and patient. Don't go rushing up to see her as she will likely spook, but take it easy and she should stay and let you watch her at work.

Our season seems to be a little later this year, a lot of activity is delayed and the bluebells are only just at their peak now... luckily for our owl photographic day yesterday! I think many off our litters will be later this year, but the greenery on the reserve is really beginning to come through now.

This is especially great for our owl photographic days, and really allows us to find some natural perches for them to offer you a "wild" looking photograph of all seven British owls!

Hopefully see some of you over the weekend, and if you do visit, don't forget to keep an eye on the otter ponds for our rare visitor!