Woodland sounds….

With snowdrops appearing under the hedge and catkins lengthening, it really does feel like spring is on the way in spite of the biting wind here!  We have heard blue tits, great tits, dunnocks, robins and a mistle thrush singing around the garden, but the most exciting noise is always the drumming of the great spotted woodpeckers in the wood next door.  We have at least two breeding pairs and have also had a couple of visits from lesser spotted, a rare and exciting treat.  When we first arrived here lesser could also be heard drumming but in recent years this sadly stopped.  For me, woodpecker drumming is as much a sound of approaching spring as birdsong.