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Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
46.257, 6.10253
Field Notes
Description:
This morning, I was on the lookout for Middle Spotted Woodpecker, in the same spot where we observed one few days ago. I was unable to get a shot then, so I went back this morning... while lying in wait, this gal waltzed into my vision and posed for me for a few minutes - the Great Spotted woodpecker is the regular residents in our counties, and I observe (or hear) them regularly and all-year-round. They are roughly the size of Blackbird, mainly black and white, with red vent. As mentioned above, this was female - the adult male (not in pictures) sports a large red patch on the nape, while the the red patch is absent in females. Juveniles, occurring during summer, could be confused with their cousin, Middle Spotted woodpecker because they sport bright red crown.
Habitat:
Seen in the garden of a national monument, "le Château Voltaire" - a castle owned by François-Marie Arouet - French philosopher better known by his pseudo 'Voltaire". The garden has a protected forested part (a part of an ancient, much bigger but now destructed forest), and contains some interesting old trees; oaks and beech mainly, some fir and few plane trees. There are also two meadows inside, combined with small wetland. The castle itself is bordered by fragmented lowland deciduous forest (remnants of that old one) and agricultural fields.
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