Finnish Focus On... White Backed Woodpecker

White Backed Woodpecker. My favorite European species of woodpecker, though I do often wonder if that is solely down to it having been a bogey bird of mine for so long (missed them in Turkey and Hungary).



However, every encounter with them reminds me it's not just that. They truly are beautiful birds in and of themselves.


They are a bird on the increase here in Finland, which can only be a good thing, and like most Woodpecker species, are prone to influxes at times.


A couple of years back, we experienced an influx of hundreds of birds, estimated I believe, to have involved 800 individuals at a minimum. I was amazed this didn't really hit the Birding headlines in Europe. It was certainly on the agenda here.


The unique combination of plumage features make White Backed an easy enough species to ID. The problem with finding them stems more from their shy nature and their habit of often feeding on fallen trees on the ground.


Getting to see birds in the hand, like this one at Hanko bird observatory, is a rare opportunity to observe them up close. What a gorgeous creature.






This individual, on my old patch of Laajalahti, was my first ever, gleefully twitched on my first Christmas visit to Finland. It likely sealed the deal on making me want to move here (just don't tell my wife).





Juveniles are equally sweet. Lacking the full red tones on the underparts, they seem even cleaner than adults.













As winter sets in, hopefully we stand a chance of adding one to the garden list. 



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