Don't like woodpeckers anymore

We'd been delighted in the last week or two to see a greater spotted woodpecker coming regularly into the garden and feeding from the fat balls.



And we've been equally delighted that blue tits have returned once again to the nest box outside our kitchen door.

But we've just come back from a couple of nights away and to our bewilderment noticed that the opening to the nest box has grown dramatically.


Before...



After...



We've come to the conclusion that the culprit must be the woodpecker - we don't think a squirrel could get up there very easily. I wonder how long it took it to enlarge the hole? Wish we'd been here - we'd have been rattling on the window to scare it off. I know it's all part of nature and the woodpecker has its own young to feed etc etc but we're very fond of our hard-working little blue tits and would rather the woodpecker stuck to the fat balls.

Fortunately both adult blue tits are still in residence - and still arriving with mouthfuls of juicy caterpillars, so we can only conclude that at least one of their young is still alive.

Next task: to go and top up the fat ball feeder in the hope that the woodpecker will be satisfied with that...and then build a new nest box for next year - this time reinforced with lots of steel mesh...