Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

DURING the last year there have been many sightings of the great spotted woodpecker throughout East Lancashire.

There are, however, three species of woodpecker which occur in our area but two are rather uncommon.

This week I saw both the green woodpecker and the lesser spotted woodpecker in the area around Chatburn.

The green woodpecker is referred to as "the yaffle" and "the rain bird." The yaffle is taken from the sound it makes when it is calling.

Unlike the great spotted woodpecker the green woodpecker does not "drum" its bill on the trunks of trees but advertises its presence by the high pitched laughing call.

The name "rain bird" is also interesting because it tends to call quite frequently in the rain.

On Thursday last week in the middle of a heavy shower I heard a green woodpecker "yaffling."

Then I saw it feeding on the ground and looking for its favourite food, which is ants. The green woodpecker has a very long sticky tongue which is ideal for catching insects.

The lesser spotted woodpecker is quite uncommon but it is occasionally seen in East Lancashire.

This species tends to feed on insects found on the side branches of trees while the larger great spotted woodpecker searches for food on the main trunk. This avoids direct competition between the three species.

There is one other species which is even rarer than the lesser spotted woodpecker and this is the wryneck.

This is not actually a woodpecker but it is a close relative. It gets its name from the fact that it holds its head in such a way that it seems to have a stiff neck. The reason that the wryneck is so rare in Britain is that it needs a hot climate.

Some people think that the wryneck is one species which will benefit from global warming but until then Lancashire records of the species are likely to be few and far between.

Readers' postbag...

THIS week's postbag has included some interesting photographs and observations.

The first was from David Kilpatrick, of Padiham Road, Burnley, who is the tree warden for Ightenhill. He writes that at Gawthorpe "My camera click disturbed a bird which flew off a post and over my shoulder. It settled on the track and was not inclined to move again."

RON'S REPLY: The bird which David disturbed was a young kestrel obviously just leaving to fend for itself. It was obviously finding flying difficult and it was not too good at geography either!

Peter Riley, of Wolseley Street, Blackburn, wrote enclosing a photograph of pyramidal orchids taken while on a walk along the Darwen Valley from the Aqueduct Hotel to Lower Darwen with car parking at both ends. The transformation that has taken place over the last few years has been quite amazing. For anyone interested in nature this is the place to visit, says Peter.

RON'S REPLY: Peter is right. The Darwen Walkway is now a joy and improving all the time. Over the next few years the River Darwen seems destined to improve still further.

Peter Bray, of Darwen, photographed a herring gull and its young on the flat roof of a house in Cornwall. Peter wondered if this was of any interest even though it was not local.

RON'S REPLY: Gulls are usually thought to breed in large colonies. There are more and more records of herring gulls using nest sites such as this and this species is now moving further and further inland. Most birdwatchers do not now refer to "sea" gulls because "plain" gulls are now inland birds as well.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.