Any ornithologists here?

[driverrob]

A couple of months ago I watched, in amazement, for 40 minutes, a green woodpecker doing its thing on my back lawn. i.e. digging a hole, dribbling in it and licking up ants. At least that's what the book said it was doing.
'Great idea', I thought. I won't need to use ant-killer on all those pesky ant hills that litter my lawn all summer.
He keeps coming back; fresh holes most mornings.
Problem; the holes don't coincide with the ant hills!
Anyway, does anyone know why every hole has one or more half (hazel?) nut shells beside ie it?
viz:

and

[CVP]

I know this sounds stupid but are you sure it's the same hole? That looks a lot like the aftermath of a squirrel digging. Otherwise am very puzzled. I'll do some research...

Chris

[Gingerbread Man]

Is the woodpecker in fact a squirrel?

[driverrob]

Now that you mention it, I haven't seen the woodpecker since.
I've seen no hedgehogs for several years.
There is a pair of squirrels who often run along the fences or pop down to look for food or try to up-end the bird-feeders. But why might they dig a small hole in the grass?

[CVP]

Looking at the outside of those shells, they look to have been dug up, so that's why you have them

Did a quick bit of looking on the Woodpecker front and this pdf http://www.birdsandbirdlife.co.uk/pdf_files/Woodpe... gives you a bit more background on what could have been your Woodpecker. You absolutely spot on on the ant feeding.

Interesting you must have a very bright squirrel. Studies often show that squirrles bury many many nuts during the late autumn but very rarely do they find them all in spring, more often than not simply digging holes not where they actually buried the nut. Having said that your average squirrel is a pretty clever animal given its tiny brain size as can be seen from the programmes putting obstacle courses in the way of food, it does not take them long to learn all the tricks to get to the food.

Chris

[JustinP1]

driverrob said:

Now that you mention it, I haven't seen the woodpecker since.
I've seen no hedgehogs for several years.
There is a pair of squirrels who often run along the fences or pop down to look for food or try to up-end the bird-feeders. But why might they dig a small hole in the grass?

Where squirrels have access to nuts that they cannot eat that day they will hide them.

The believe the lawn is a good place. The dig up a small hole, put the nut in, then have a go a patting the soil back down. If you go to one of the holes and dig a centimetre or two in you will find the nut.

[driverrob]

Thanks for that, everyone.
Squirrel(s) it is, then.
He/they must have been quite good at 'patting' the soil back in last autumn because I never noticed any holes, let alone the twenty or so I've had to deal with this spring.