-
BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!
Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Why no Woodpeckers in Ireland (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter The Raptor
- Start date
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
This is interesting that there may already be breeding GSW's but surely more people would see the if that was the case; they aren't the most inconspicuous creatures
They are if it's just the one pair...
They can be quite elusive when they want to be. And if there are no competitors - other woodpeckers - then they wont be inclined to do much calling or drumming either.
Careful, you might start giving folk on the IBWO thread some ideas...
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
It's true though - birds that have a mate but no nearby rivals don't sing or call half as much. They don't have to, and are not provoke into it in boundary skirmishes. Although the IBWO mob are more likely to find Woody Woopecker than and Ivory Bill imo.
RKell1
Landrover, it does exactly what it says on the tin
Took a trip across to Howth Summit early Monday am to catch the sunrise and see if any GSW's about..Apart from the frostbitten fingers, Twite and Black Redstart had arrived and a small flock of Fieldfare came in off the sea. No GSW's :C but will try again at the weekend when I'll have a bit more time. Shot below is from the Summit looking over to Wales (66miles), so wonder if reversed, is our coastline as clear to birds on a good day!
Attachments
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
A bit of playback would work quite well starting from around now. Playback of the 'kik' call would surely get a response. You can stick an MP3 on your phone and use that, as it limits the volume to more user/woodpecker-friendly levels. Means you have to do a bit more walking though, as range will be less.
Must be at least as clear, given that the woodies in Wales would (alliteration, I like that!) have the rising sun behind them.
bitterntwisted
Graham Howard Shortt
But the Woodies would have to be up those mountains to see across. From below the treeline, an area understandably favoured by the aptly named woodpecker, even the dizzying, towering majesty of the precipitous Wicklow "mountains" would be below the horizon?
Graham
Hey, You can laugh, to us they're Alpine!
Anyway, dunno....how high up do the trees go in Snowdonia? You can certainly see Wales even from Killiney Hill (a vertigo-inducing 500 feet above sea-level) on a clear day. Don't forget that woodpeckers can fly, too, possibly even higher than a tree (hence the aptly-termed "birds" thingy....)
Last edited:
bitterntwisted
Graham Howard Shortt
Only teasing, Sancho. Prmopted mostly by my Dad's insistence on relating tales of his mountaineering feats in those gentle hills south of Dublin. Don't know how far up the trees would go in Snowdonia without the sheep grazing, but the native woodland is pretty much restricted to river valleys and the steepest hillsides now. There's extensive forestry which in places is just over 1000ft but I suspect that's below the horizon from your side. Sadly, Green Woodpeckers have declined sharply in the area but Greatspots are still plentiful, soaring majestically above the canopy scanning for islands new.
Merry Christmas,
Graham
Merry Christmas,
Graham
Yeah, me too, Graham (partly induced by half a bottle of Rioja now the kids are in bed
.) Funnily, I have to take them to scale the North Face of the Sugarloaf tomorrow morning - 1,654 feet, no joking! Although Base Camp (i.e. the Car-Park) is at 500 feet. If I meet any woodpeckers, I'll let you know, but the sceptics will put it down to altitude sickness. Happy Xmas to you and yours too!
Last edited:
GSW Alert in Co. Wicklow
Attention all GSW-loving thread-contributors in Ireland....BINS lastnight reported a GSW near Annamoe, Co. Wicklow (only 20km straight-run into the Wicklow Himalayas from where I live! Oooh, I'm so excited! Just trying to load up the Sherpas as we speak). PM-ed you guys, pianoman and RKell1.
Attention all GSW-loving thread-contributors in Ireland....BINS lastnight reported a GSW near Annamoe, Co. Wicklow (only 20km straight-run into the Wicklow Himalayas from where I live! Oooh, I'm so excited! Just trying to load up the Sherpas as we speak). PM-ed you guys, pianoman and RKell1.
Last edited:
Not a good idea, Pianoman....that's when the Abominable Rain-Man is most likely to show up....
Update on the Annamoe GSW....I spent an hour wandering around the trees of Annamoe this PM, failing miserably to find a Woodpecker. It was great, I felt just like a Cornell Researcher.
However, a (on-topic) thought occurred to me: maybe the fairly frequent occurrences of GSW in Ireland don't result in nesting attempts 'cos maybe the birds are juveniles, and aren't sure about the whole nesting thing, you know, like when you have your first child and keep putting the nappies on backwards. Supposing GSW on their first breeding attempts always use abandoned nest-holes, 'cos they haven't quite figured out how to make their own? (I think I remember reading about the golden eagle project, that juvenile eagles may attempt to nest but are crap at it). Well, if this is the case, in Ireland, there wouldn't be any abandoned nest-holes, or any nest-holes at all to begin with? Just a thought. Does anyone know if this might be the case, i.e. if woodpeckers use abandoned nest-holes to begin with? (Apologies if this has already been dealt with, it seems like far too sensible an idea for me to have come up with all alone and it does give me a sense of deja vu).
Last edited:
pianoman
duck and diver, bobolink and weaver
Cool, thanks Vogel.
Had a nose around Annamoe myself last Sunday Week, but it's quite a large area to cover (Imagine how it must be looking for IBWO!).
Sancho, perhaps the occasional visitors occur singly and simply never meet a nice redhead to settle down with...
Had a nose around Annamoe myself last Sunday Week, but it's quite a large area to cover (Imagine how it must be looking for IBWO!).
Sancho, perhaps the occasional visitors occur singly and simply never meet a nice redhead to settle down with...
pianoman
duck and diver, bobolink and weaver
Oooh, I wonder if it's where I think it is... thanks Stevensi
Well pianoman, these pictures were posted on this site over the weekend....wouldn't it be great if they began breeding here.
http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news/2008/april_photos.html
http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news/2008/april_photos.html
pianoman
duck and diver, bobolink and weaver
The pictures make it seem more real somehow - thanks.
Since it takes two to tango, the chances of the guy meeting a female in the same neck of the woods would be small I suppose, but would love to be wrong. Does regular drumming indicate the presence of a female, or just high hopes? Is it possible from the picture to identify if this is a Scandanavian race?
