Welcome back!
In my last blog, I told you how our family celebrated Christmas. If you haven’t read it, click here. Today I will tell you about my most unusual garden visitor.
We live in a village with a small forest nearby. At sunset, you can see deer grazing on the meadow. However, if you come too close, they jump away. Sometimes you even find some small bundles of their hair lying on the grass. It looks like a big, dirty cotton ball with a strong odor. There are also rabbits, wild boar, and foxes living there. In Summer the shepherd comes with its flock of sheep. The shepherd always places a fence around their grazing area to keep them safe. They usually stay for two days. It's a neighborhood sensation! Now you know why I am so adventurous. Plenty to do in the forest! Every time I go walking with my friends or parents in the forest, I always take my Explorer Backpack. That way I can see and hear the different types of birds and animals living there.
Among those birds is the green-red woodpecker. This shy but loud bird is also known by two funny names: “yaffle” and “nickle.” Click here to listen to their sound. Their plumage is bright green above and pale yellowish green below. They have a bright red crown on top of their head and a black moustache. They are 30–36 cm (12–14 in) long and their wingspan is 45–51 cm (18–20 in).
Back to my story. Today I will tell you about my green-red woodpecker, Mr. Picus Viridis. First, grab your binoculars and join me. Be quiet and move slowly. Do you know how to distinguish the male and the female? It’s very easy. Look at its moustache, does it have a stripe of red? If the answer is yes, then it’s a male. The female has none. He comes daily looking for ants to eat. In Winter ants could be hard to find. In that case, he will eat insects or small reptiles.
A puzzle question for you, what is the difference between the green-red woodpecker and the other woodpeckers? Woodpeckers are known for their hammering sound when pecking a tree. This woodpecker doesn’t have a strong beak like the others, sooooooo they can’t peck. They carve or drill their nest on trees of softwood: Oak, Beech, Pine, Poplar, Willow, or the Aspen fruit tree. Their nest is built by the male in about 15-30 days. It is 150 mm wide and up to 40 cm (16 in) deep. You can see the nest a few feet above the ground or on top of tall trees.
“Joey, are you and your friends ready to go?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Let us go and try to find a green-red woodpecker nest in the forest!
“Hurray, hurray!”
After walking around, we finally found a female woodpecker up on a tree.
“Let us go home. Your mom baked caramelized apple cake”, said Dad
“Yummy, yummy for our tummies,” said we while rubbing our grumbling bellies.
“Welcome back hungry explorer,” said Mom smiling.
We ate a big piece of cake with ice cream and drank hot cocoa.
Do you also have unusual garden visitors? Share your story with me. Send me a message using our Contact Form. Be sure to first ask your parents for permission. Better still write the message together with your parents. I enjoy reading and answering my messages.
Gotta run now. Need to help Mom clean up. Ahhh, I almost forgot. We want to thank animalia.bio and wallpaper.com for the images, and xeno-canto for the bird sound.
In my next blog, I will have a special guest…
Remember to brush your teeth and keep them clean for the Tooth Fairy.
Joey Paco
Credits:
Bird sound: https://xeno-canto.org/707777