Even closer to home than the Lesser Woodpeckers, I discovered three Stone Curlews had dropped in the field across the road from our apartment. They were a fair distance away and, on the point of starting our evening meal, I took a few record photos from the balcony and left them to settle down where they roosted. On the coast here, I came across a lovely male Blue Rock Thrush feeding on the ground. I had heard it moments before, singing for long periods on a building. It then flew up onto a solar panel which just happened to be the same colour as the rock thrush, perhaps an unintentional disguise. The male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was busy working on the new nest hole when he was interrupted by a female Great Spotted Woodpecker, landing in the same tree. The presence of the Greater was not received well at all with the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, flying at the Greater from all directions and with much noise. The Great Spotted was driven away and it was the turn of the female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker to check on the progress at the nest hole. On the dunes at Salgados, the (white) Crested Lark is very much present and sings in company with the other larks. I'm becoming rather obsessed with the little woodpeckers and am leaving a few more images in the gallery below. The nest hole is being dug out, mainly by the male, who ejects wood chippings frequently and is now almost inside the hole. I should point out that this nest site is on private property yet, only a couple of metres away from a footpath. This allows me to park kerbside and photograph from inside the car, leaving the birds undisturbed.
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