I have left behind in the inner ‘burbs of London one family of woodpeckers, with fledglings almost ready to fly. I’ve immediately exchanged them for a family of West Indian Woodpeckers, at exactly the same stage, in the middle of nowhere. Here are a few comparative images. For some reason my ability to upload sound files of the raucous nestlings being fed is thwarted by a glitch, so I’ll add one in due course.
TAKE ONE PAIR OF WEST INDIAN WOODPECKERS
GIVE THEM A COUPLE OF NEST BOXES TO PREVENT THEM DESTROYING THE ROOF
SOONER OR LATER, THEY WILL PRODUCE A FAMILY – OR EVEN TWO IN A SEASON
HOWEVER, AN UNUSED NESTBOX IS ATTRACTIVE TO WILD HONEY BEES TOO…
ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY 
What a surprise! You’ll see fledgling woodpeckers after all. The West Indian ones seem more elegant birds but perhaps with difficult habits (destroying roofs?). It will be interesting watching wild honey bees.
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I thought these woodpeckers had had their family in March – this is the second one. They are just as busy – a full-time job just feeding the nestlings. These ones are getting louder daily – it won’t be long before a small head pokes out to have a look around. The boxes were indeed self-defence against roof destruction, and worked perfectly! I’m trying to work out the ethics of smoking the bees out of the other box and collecting the honey… Not good, I think!
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