I was trying to capture a photo of a mysterious little grey bird in our cherry tree, who wouldn’t sit in one place for half a second, and was going mad with frustration, when this lovely green woodpecker showed up and posed very nicely for me. I didn’t enhance the red on his head, it really did photograph like that. Now the question is: is his tail tucked under him, or is it in fact missing?
Birds in Berlin
Birdwatching in the German metropolis
Your photographs are truly awesome. I am so enjoying learning about the birds in your part of the world. This woodpecker reminds me of a juvenile Hairy Woodpecker I saw last spring. It’s tail has since ‘come in’; so I wonder if your green woodpecker is a juvenile?
Thanks so much Grandma Pearl! I’m glad you like the photographs. I just looked to see if the woodpecker is a juvenile, but because it has the full red head, it appears to be an adult. But it also seems that these birds have their tails tucked under for balance in many of the photographs online, so perhaps I just couldn’t see his tail here? He flew away so fast and silently that unfortunately I couldn’t see anything when he left the branch. I also just looked at your blog and was so happy to see the old American birds. I miss them!
Adrienne, I totally understand about birds not staying still long enough for us to get a good look at them sometimes! That woodpecker certainly is a beautiful bird, with or without a tail!
And thank you for checking out my blog. I do so love my birds. I’ll be adding a couple that have recently arrived: rose-breasted grosbeaks, ruby-throated hummers and indigo buntings. I know there are orioles out there, but they move so fast and stay so high in the trees, I haven’t been successful at capturing them with my camera as yet. Lots of oranges and nectar feeders will hopefully give me a good sporting chance!
Have a great birding day;) Grandma Pearl
I saw one of these green redhead woodpeckers, yesterday on my walk to work in Grafenwoehr, Germany.