First juvenile great spotted woodpecker for 2013

Showers, overcast and strong gales (or blowing a hoolie if you are from these parts!). But it didn't seem to put the wildlife off as there were lots of new fledglings in the garden today, including this juvenile great spotted woodpecker.

When I first moved here I wasted a whole summer photographing and videoing them. Thinking that this was it - that there might not be any fledglings again next year.

How wrong. Nonetheless this still ranks as one of my favourite summer pastimes (getting my first glimpse of the juvenile woodpeckers). However, I have now learnt to do other things in the happy knowledge that the young will be back next year! Still every year I never tire of watching them try and figure out how to get to the nuts in the feeder. Always ungainly at first, but they soon get the hang of it.

Of the half dozen photos I got this one was the funniest as it looks ridicules on the bird table obviously not designed to be on something flat, and this one almost looks scared of the peanuts...