Epping Forest-female Great Spotted Woodpecker with a seemingly red forehead? (1 Viewer)

[KenM]

Took a short burst of an oncoming GSW this am and was a little surprised at the colour of her forehead?

Cheers

 

[foresttwitcher]

I'd suggest staining from nest hole excavation due to sap/rotting wood however that usually is a buffy or dirty brown colour and this does seem to be more red.

 

[tconzemi]

And the blue sky is a bit off too, check white balance, though I agree it is unusually red

 

[Butty]

Yet again... If you post the actual photos instead of photos of images on a small screen you might get a more worthwhile answer. You have been asked many many times by many people not to do this.

 

[KenM]

Yet again... If you post the actual photos instead of photos of images on a small screen you might get a more worthwhile answer. You have been asked many many times by many people not to do this.

You’re almost enough for someone to see “red” Butty.😮😮😮

 

[rezMole]

Is this not just a juvenile losing its red "cap"? Ones I've had on my feeders tend to lose the red from the back of the cap first and for a short time will have just a bit of red at the front

 

[foresttwitcher]

I doubt it at this time of year.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Ken,

yes, it is possible to see the original pictures?

I agree with Pete, it doesnt seem to be juvenile feathers, as the demarcation between the red and the black seems sharp (better judged on the original pictures? Surely)

And I agree with Tom about the appearant white balance: the appearant pale bubble-gum violett hue at the white spots on the wing is out of variation (?yes I think so) No offence you know, just a kind request for the originals.

I looked at many GSW recently, looking for answers about this question Club300 Germany.
But I read somewhere, that migrant GSW from the north can stay in Italy after an invasion, so ....
And it was one of my favourite birds in my young years.

But as the forehead varies from (nearly) pure white (rare in Germany) to cream or buffish tones, rarely even rusty, I havent seen this colour before.

So Tfs and I hope for the originals and more comments. Thanks!

No offence you know!

 

[KenM]

Will endeavour to download some frames tomorrow Alexander.👍

 

[KenM]

Alexander hi, frames herewith straight out of the camera with no “tweaking”.
When I compare the BOC shots with these originals, there is a brighter sky (albeit as it was on the morning) and a corresponding brightening of the forehead, however whichever way one interprets the “colour” it looks most unusual to me, normally this area is white-flesh coloured in my experience.

I’ve added one of the original (BOC) shots.

PS fwiw the bird was shot in shadow behind the trees facing the sun.

Cheers

 

[foresttwitcher]

Colour looks even more like brownish staining now and much less red.

 

[KenM]

The only comment I would add to this is….that the “new images” seem to show a very dull looking subject against a particularly dull sky, when the reality was somewhat different, being a bright and sunny morning.
It seems that one might be at the mercy of the sensor (and the settings), it was set to a fast shutter speed, because I assumed that it would fly off at 90 degrees to moi, thus giving me a good flight image not straight towards…I’ll be keeping an eye out for that individual in future.😮

Cheers

 

[Butty]

the “new images” seem to show a very dull looking subject against a particularly dull sky, when the reality was somewhat different, being a bright and sunny morning.

Because they are underexposed by about ⅔ stop.

 

[Redmist]

Regardless of the image quality, I am unclear what, if anything, the identification question is here? Is this a question of just a possible aberrant greater spotted woodpecker or is there something else that this could involve? No one has addressed this part yet!

 

[Butty]

I think the occurrence of potentially-aberrant/unusual plumage is a legitimate one for an ID forum - and it has been/is being discussed 👍🏻

 

[Redmist]

That’s fine, I just wasn’t sure if there was some other potential ID that could be considered here. The exact question wasn’t clear to me on this one

 

[KenM]

Because they are underexposed by about ⅔ stop.

Yes, correctly exposed would have given a more accurate shade/tone of colour.