We are now firmly into the English summer now, past the summer solstice and the days are getting shorter again.  I thought I’d post this photo of a green woodpecker.  Why?  Well, right now, the green woodpeckers are pretty much invisible.  The meadow grass is now approaching two feet high and the birds are completely hidden and un-photographable in it.  This photo was taken just one month ago.  Less than five weeks ago the new grass was only a couple of inches high.  It just shows how fast growth sets in.  About the only place you can see the birds on the ground is where the local rabbits have kept the meadow grass short.  But that happens only in isolated and quite small areas at the fringes of the meadow. 

The above image is quite heavily cropped (about 50%) but I’m gearing closer to these elusive birds.  The only successful technique I’ve found in this area in to get right down into the grass and stalk by commando crawling very slowly.  Usually you end up wet, muddy and, sometimes, thoroughly prickled from the emerging field thistles.  In usual English style, this picture was taken in light rain, so the grass was thoroughly wet but it did give a fine shine to everything.