I was recording the sounds of birdsong by the river this morning and a woodpecker started tapping out gentle rhythmic patterns from a branch just overhead, like someone knocking a door. This isn’t the full drumming sound – though there was some of that from another woodpecker further off – but the slower, quieter probing they do to find grubs and insects. It’s not normally as tuneful and musical as this and usually sounds much quieter as it’s higher up the tree. There are some mallard duck skirmishes going on too. Put the sound up and have a listen!
A few years ago at around this time I watched two green woodpeckers doing a sort of dance on the riverbank. They flew up into a tree and started to do it again, and I was able to get a short video of them. It’s impossible to tell if they are a mating couple, but I doubt two males could get this close without pecking at each other!
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