Finnish Focus on....Three-Toed Woodpecker

Been planning on a regular feature of profiling species which I particularly like when it comes  to birding here in Finland.

I thought I would start with a real favorite of mine, Three-toed Woodpecker.

Three-toed are not particularly rare, even near the capital, but they are habitat specialists in their choice of breeding location.

On my first visit to Finland, in August 2013, this was one of my most sought after species, and the 10 km hike through a national park, to find pristine, old growth forest, was worth the swarms of mosquitoes to see these stunners.


My first Three-Toed Woodpecker - Seitseminen National Park

These days I don't do that. The 10 km walk doesn't put me off. But I do try to avoid mozzies if I can. And most winters I can rely on one or two Three-toed being on patch, where, more often than not, they can be exceptionally tame. So I simply have to wait and let them come to me.



Immature Three-Toed Woodpecker - Laajalahti


Immature Three-Toed Woodpecker - Laajalahti



Immature Three-Toed Woodpecker - Laajalahti


Adult Male Three-Toed Woodpecker - Laajalahti

Males, with that gorgeous yellow crown, are particularly mind-blowing. This one below was in Nuuksio national park in winter, half way between our home and mökki. We watched this bird for around an hour, as he was exceptionally tame. A soft low tapping at the base of a tree gave him away, and indeed we originally suspected that we had a more distant woodpecker off in the woods, finally realizing that, in fact there was a bird near our feet. A dream bird, in black, white and yellow.

When it comes to species like this, species that that become favorites or go on the "most wanted" list, I often try to recall where/when that thought/desire was put in my head. I distinctly remember a birding profile in Birdwatching magazine when I first started out birding, for birding in Manitoba, Canada. There was an image of Three-toed that stuck with me. And, again, now I live where I can expect to see them each winter. Head spinning stuff.

I'm almost getting nostalgic for winter here.....almost...



Three-Toed Woodpecker - Male - Hanna Hyvönen




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finnish Focus On...Taiga And Tundra Bean Geese

Image
Have been meaning to write a post on Tundra and Taiga Bean Goose identification for a while now. Wildfowl are my guilty pleasure. I've always enjoyed looking for them. The escape issue turns a lot of people off them. Grey geese can turn people off further still. Since moving to Finland, being able to spend long hours in the field watching both types of Bean Goose has been a joy, especially considering how rare they are in Ireland.  Tundra Bean Geese are the far commoner species to occur here, making them the easier to photograph and so a good place to start. Tundra Bean Goose Tundra Bean Goose - careful assessment of structure is most important when identifying bean geese. Whilst there are size differences between the smaller Tundra and larger Taiga, this plays out most obviously in their structure and shape. Both species, rear on, can be extremely difficult to pick apart without the structural clues visible. The head and bill structure are crucial in Bean Goose identification. Thi
Read more

How To Be A Rarity Finder

Image
A recent statistic popped up in my various social media memories.  To date I've been birding on 4 continents, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, and found rare birds on each of them. Pretty happy with that. 😎 So thought a post on how to go about finding rarities and importantly, how to BE a rarity finder was worth throwing up. They may sound like the same thing, but I have different views on both. One is methodology. The other is an outlook. Combine the best of both and you will achieve your goals. First up, the Methodology . 1. KNOW YOUR BIRDS This is an obvious one (though people may have different perceptions on what this takes.)  It stands to reason though, that to find a Lesser Yellowlegs as a vagrant, you're going to have to know what a Redshank looks like (in all plumages)...and Greenshank ...and Wood Sandpiper ...and then...just to be really fecking sure... Greater Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper and Marsh Sandpiper too. Lesser Yellowlegs - I've found 6 Lesser
Read more

The Irish Rare Birds Committee...The end of days?

Image
People often ask me why "I care about what's going on back in Ireland." I imagine many Irish people who've left to live in other countries, especially better countries, care what happens back home. That's why we want the ability to vote abroad. So we can have our say in making our country better, often with first hand experience of systems working better in our new country of residence. Now, don't get me wrong. Finland isn't perfect. No country is. It has it's scandals and dodgy politicians too. But it does seem to be on a smaller scale, it has to be said. Or maybe I just don't connect with them on the same level. Currently, the biggest long running scandal seems to be when the new metro will open between Espoo and Helsinki. Somewhat of a different level than, oh...I dunno...mass graves of babies around potatoland, like. There's no handing over the new maternity hospital to the nuns. There's no nnnyaaardeee rackin
Read more