Diolch @ramblingjohn - this is definitely a must!
Hwyl, John
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One of my favourite bridges.
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@JohnYoung If you’re ever back in this area, call in for a cup of tea and a chat (in Welsh). Send a message and I’ll give directions.
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Very kind of you, Doug.
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Heddiw - today.
Cen - lichen (note discs forming on the stems where the spores will develop and disperse).
Ffwng blew yr amrant - eyelash fungus (look for these on wood lying on damp/wet ground).
Cheers J.P.
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Heddiw - today. aderyn yn y llaw - a bird in the hand.
Cnocell fraith fwyaf (gwrywaidd) - (male) Greater spotted woodpecker.
Cheers J.P.
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Great photo!
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Pam yw e’n y llaw?/Why is he in hand/being held? Just curious…
(Agree that it’s a great photo!)
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I think it’s probably being ringed or being measured and having the ring checked
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Please tell us the whole story. I didn’t think they were rare enough to be ringed!
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Huh. That looks very much like what is known as a “Hairy Woodpecker” around here (or it’s smaller but very similar cousin the Downy Woodpecker). I wonder how closely related they are?
(image borrowed from allaboutbirds.org )
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In UK we have ‘Greater Spotted’ and ‘Lesser Spotted’. Recently read somewhere that lesser spotted are much rarer than greater, which surprised me as I thought it was the other way round! We see both, I think.
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Hi, yes I got carried away with a search on this last night and it seems that the UK woodpeckers are closely related to, but separate from the American and other woodpeckers.
I noticed that the black and white markings near to the eyes tend to give this away. Also the crest/flick-up on Woody Woodpecker’s head - sorry 
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Well, Woody’s crest is typical of some woodpeckers, but not most.
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Dyma aderyn arall/Here’s another bird: Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). Where I live I see the downy and hairy woodpeckers that @Sionned mentioned, too; the flicker is the largest of the woodpeckers I see. They all come to enjoy the suet that I put out in the winter. I took this photo a few years ago, but I see them every year.
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Now that really is novel for us across the ‘pond’ from you!
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What a gorgeous bird! Love the spotty markings!
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A superb image, all i can offer is a view from my skylight this evening.
Awyr goch heno - Red sky tonight.
Cheers J.P.
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I went hunting through my OLD photos - this one was taken several years ago. This is (I think) a young Cooper’s Hawk, who used to visit our bird garden fairly often. Suffice it to say, the others birds made themselves scarce when he arrived because he would grab one for a snack. I managed to get this photo (and several others of him) from our kitchen window.
(click to embiggen)
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@ramblingjohn and @Sionned both your posts are glorious for different,reasons! John’s just beautiful light , colour… Sionned, my favourite class of birds and a truly lovely one at that! Diolch both of you!
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