Thursday 23 April 2015

Europe's only truly migratory woodpecker

Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla. Pag Island, Croatia, April 2015 (Gerard Gorman). This species is Europe's only truly migratory woodpecker. Most of Europe's breeding population winters in sub-Sahara Africa, leaving in autumn and returning in spring. 

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Syrian Woodpecker female

Female Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus, Apaj, Hungary, April 2015.

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Black Woodpecker nesting cavity

Nesting cavity entrance of Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, Hungary, April 2015. In Europe, only Black Woodpeckers make oval-shaped holes like this, in fact, the majority of the holes of this species are this shape. This one was 25m up in an old beech tree. It is fresh, new, as the wood around the rim is still clean and pale.