Great Spotted Woodpecker’s early drumming

Great Spotted Woodpeckers are regular visitors to our Finningley garden peanut and fatball feeders. Last week the male was recorded most days and this week it was the female I kept seeing.  However at 10.30am on Thursday 30th January we heard one of them drumming very loudly close by though couldn’t actually see the bird. Although we do often hear Woodpeckers drumming close to home I don’t think I’ve ever heard one drumming so early in the year be fore.