Hors de combat

This poor chap hit the kitchen window with a tremendous bang.  I had been watching him a few moments before as he was hanging upside down under a branch - which usually means he is hiding from either a sparrowhawk or another woodpecker.

If a woodpecker hits the window it is usually fleeing - again either from a sparrowhawk or another woodpecker.  When I looked out of the window he was lying on the grass, stunned and not moving but still breathing.  I couldn't see a sparrowhawk and the other birds didn't seem alarmed.  Then I spotted another male woodpecker watching him closely from a couple of metres away and within seconds it flew down to attack him again.  They had a very noisy brief fight but he got away, only to crash into the window again.  He fell down but managed to cling onto the waste pipe below the kitchen widow.  He hung there breathing heavily with his eyes half closed.  I took these photos first with a camera with a 300mm lens

but then I could get close enough to take these photos with a phone so you can tell he wasn't feeling very well.

I picked him up to check that he was OK and he obviously was because he started squealing loudly and biting me. There was no chance of more photos and he seemed uninjured so I let him go.  He flew off over the fence but was then immediately pursued by the other woodpecker.  The last I saw they were both flying at full speed so I hope he got away.  It is odd behaviour for this time of year.  Although woodpeckers will compete for food and chase each other I haven't seen them fight like this before.