Green Woodpeckers

We at the Vine have been lucky enough to spot a green woodpecker or Pictus viridis on one of our wildlife cameras!

These solitary (they like to live alone) birds can be 30-34 cm long, weigh 180-220g and have a wingspan of 40-42 cm. Although they are noisy and have a very distinctive call these birds are not seen that often. Green woodpeckers are usually spotted on open ground instead of in the trees where they hunt.  When they peck into the sides of trees, they are actually removing bark so they can feed on the grubs and insects living inside the tree. In the UK alone there are approximately 52,000 breeding pairs of green woodpeckers and we hope that that in the future this number will rise.

by TL ‘Wildlife Champion’

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey, who are excellent bird hunters and can be found in all kinds of habitats, they often visits gardens looking for its prey - small birds like finches, tits and sparrows.

Adult male sparrowhawks have slate-grey back and wings and reddish-brown bars on their chest and belly. Females and young birds have brown back and wings, and brown bars underneath. Sparrowhawks have bright yellow or orangey eyes, long, yellow legs and long talons. Like with all birds of prey, females are larger than males, however, being almost 25% bigger is the biggest size difference in any bird.

Looking at the photo above, what do you think makes a successful bird of prey, can you name any of the features that will help catch a prey?