The new generation of woodpeckers

I think there are more woodpeckers in the garden at the moment than I can ever remember.  I saw the first independent juvenile on 7th June and there are still youngsters being fed by their parents this morning.  It generally takes only a couple of days before the young birds can feed themselves, once they have learnt what to eat and where the food is. One of the advantages of year-round feeding is that I get to see so many.  I reckon there must be well over a dozen individuals visiting the garden, although I haven't seen more than five at one time.

In previous years I have been ready poised with the camera in early June but I have had plenty of good photos before so I haven't made much of an effort this time.  I did see these two though, while I was watching tree sparrows this week so I thought you might like to see them.  The feeder was only a couple of feet away so the youngster was waiting on the sparrowhawk perch while the father was grabbing the food.