Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker
(Dendrocopos major)

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a bird around about 24 centimeters long and it is a permanent resident of our garden. It has very strong bill, for drilling and drumming on trees, and long tongue for extracting food. Also, might be very interesting to know that it has a special membrane which closes protecting the eye from flying debris. And some special feathers are covering the nostrils, too.

During summer, this woodpecker is such an inconspicuous bird! Its best ally is the foliage, and the only way to be aware of Woody’s presence it is the drumming, those repeated blows of its bill upon a trunk. What’s very interesting for me, it’s that a few years ago I noticed a woodpecker drumming upon an iron pole, not a wood one. The sounds were amazing.

Unfortunately, only during winter I have more chances to get some decent photos of this woodpecker.

When was the last time you saw a woodpecker?

Ready, set, go!

European Magpie (Pica pica)

And here I go!

Hello, my dear readers!

A while ago I was asking you about what camera I should choose. My budget was limited, my desires were (and still are) unlimited so it was a hard decision.

On this Black Friday I bought a new camera. In Romania, Black Friday was this year on 22nd November(because 30th November and 1st December are free days and it’s hard to deliver so many products if Black Friday would be on 29th November).

So I’m the owner of a lovely Canon Powershot SX 160 IS.

If you wonder what I was looking for, you might find useful to read my post here.

But why this Canon?

1. This was the best camera I could aford at this moment.

2. I have complete control of exposure, selecting both aperture and shutter speed manually. I can even control manually the focus. (This is something new for me and not so easy to master.)

3. 16x Optical Zoom Lens(lens starts at 28mm wide-angle and extends to 448mm telephoto). You know I love birds and this zoom helps me so much.

It was very hard for me to get used this week with the new camera but I hope for more, and more, and more.

My main subject now: birds.

Here you have some photos.

Great Tit (Parus major)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Even sparrows are nice posers:

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1

We don’t have many woodpeckers as then when I was a kid…unfortunatelly.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

This Common buzard was standing on a pole and after he noticed me, he decided to go. But you may see in the photo below how the mud ‘flew’ from its claws(the snow it’s almost melted and the fields are muddy). It was a very powerful take off!

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Great Tit (Parus major)

I will be as busy as the chickadee above.

Have a nice week!