Every year, during the breeding season, I am lucky to have great spotted woodpeckers returning to my family’s garden to feed on peanuts from our bird feeders.

In my opinion, great spotted woodpeckers are beautiful birds with colourful markings and a distinct call.

In particular, I love to watch the birds fly to our garden in pairs from our nearby wood, and as the season progresses, seeing one of the pair come less and less, leading to eventually seeing them both return together with their chicks to feed them from the feeders.

This year I saw a couple of different pairs using our feeders, and a number of chicks being bred as well. I loved being able to watch the birds from my window, seeing a parent collecting peanuts from the feeder and flying to the chick hiding at the edge of the garden, before being fed.

Nearer the end of the season, with chicks dispersing, the parents began coming less and less, until the same older chick was seen coming to feed in our garden daily.

Last week i took some photos of the youngster on two consecutive days and the second day was the last time i saw a great spotted woodpecker feeding in our garden.