Headbangers

It's taken me years to see Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Dorset, testament not just to what a duffer I am but also to how difficult they have become to catch up with. All that changed in Wareham Forest this weekend and while I didn't exactly have them drumming on my lens cap like this one photographed superbly by Brett Spencer yesterday, I was happy to get some record shots of a pair. A Great Spotted was battering its head on the same tree and Green Woodpeckers flying around the same area completed the set.

Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in flight

Female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker - compare with previous shot

Woodlark was also present near the Woodpeckers

Brimstones confirmed the arrival of Spring

Grey Squirrel

Fieldfare were shipping out as the warmer weather arrived

And this Great Grey Shrike in Wareham Forest won't be around for long either