Woodpecker fledglings

This is something I look forward to at this time of year and a scene that has played out outside the kitchen window many times a day over the past two weeks.  The fledgling woodpeckers are usually brought to the feeders by their parents around the end of the first week of June but this year they were early - the first I saw was on the 29th May. Since then it has been very busy with the adults squabbling over access, even though there are two peanut feeders. There are one or two woodpeckers, or sometimes four or five, every time I look out of the window.

The view has changed a lot since last year.  Then the feeders were hanging from branches right outside the window but it meant the light was poor under the trees and the youngsters were often very difficult to see amongst the leaves. All the branches were lost in the great storm so now there is better light.  The feeders are now very close to the nearest oak and the chicks like to perch on the bark, although often in a spot where I can't get a clear view.

Sometimes the feeding requires flexibility from both parties.

The variation in the extent of the fledglings' red caps is striking, and more than I have noticed before.

Even though they have broods of four to five chicks, each adult usually brings one chick at a time, but occasionally two. This male had a very efficient system worked out with the chick on the feeder, even though it wasn't able to feed itself.

While this was going on another youngster was waiting patiently only half a metre away. 

Once the first was fed the parent immediately started feeding the second one.

And another half a metre away a third chick, presumably a bit older and from a different family, was on the other feeder, working out how to to feed itself.  I think the youngsters are only fed by the parents for a a couple of days before they are independent.

The woodpeckers seem to be the only birds that consistently bring their young to the feeders to be fed.  There are lots of other fledglings in the garden this week.  I saw a family of young nuthatches but they were staying in cover while their parents went to fetch the food.

This seems to have been a really good year for woodpeckers.  At this rate they will be eating more peanuts than the foxes.