Fantastic morning with Great Spotted Woodpeckers -Juanar

Well Peter I finally tracked a pair of them down after 3 months or so of fleeting glimpses!!

Got up at 5.30am and was at Juanar at first light. Headed off up to the main viewpoint to see if I could find the Red-legged Partridge chicks I practically tripped over there on Monday. Heard the adults calling within a few minutes but although they were very close initially they gradually moved further down the hill so not wanting to disturb the family I gave that up.

Back tracking I delved into the pinewoods to see if any of the rare Red Helleborines were still in flower (they were) and was very pleased to hear the calls of a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the vicinity. Stealthily followed the sound and to my delight and even greater amazement a pair flew in and started feeding only about 10-15m away. I was so excited that I couldn't hold the bins still

but slowly managed to manouevre myself up against a nearby tree which helped considerably.
The birds behaved magnificently feeding and calling to each other and briefly running backwards down the trunks even faster than up them. At one point the male even started drilling in the tree I was leaning against but luckily no bits fell down into my hair!
After about 20mins the male flew off but the female stayed feeding in the various pines beside me for over an hour at which point I had to creep away to start work. Was further rewarded with plenty more birds whilst returning to the car, numerous Firecrests, very close up Jays and a lovely pair of pale Booted Eagles being the main highlights.

All in all the best birding morning I've ever had ( don't be upset Peter

... it's different when you're on foot and track them down yourself especially if they're that close and have evaded you for months!) and well worth the wait for such stunning views. The only thing that could have bettered the experience would have been a big, fat 500mm lens like Pieter's to record the event!

Alexandra

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