Young Yaffle

A young Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) has been eeking out ants on our lawn this morning. He was young enough not to be unduly worried at the sight of me in the dining-room window trying to take his photograph. I took a couple but thought this the best as it shows the green plumage on his back and his red cap. The greens, yellows and reds are still somewhat muted and he has a very speckled front which will tone down and become a lighter colour with adulthood. These birds as a rule do little drumming on tree trunks but rather feed from the ground. The very young are secreted a milky paste made up of insects. They are nicknamed the Yaffle because of their loud laughing call as they fly up into the air.

N and T have been fencing with their new post basher which will pay for itself very quickly rather than paying a contractor to do the work for us. Our fences are terrible and the young calves have been escaping into our neighbours cornfield! The farmer has been very good about it so far....! The cement lorry then got stuck so T had to take the old Manitou down to the builders for the cement to be loaded into its bucket and then tipped in the right place.