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Returning to our usual walks around Shipley Park, we were lucky enough to catch sight of a Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) a few days ago. Not usually easy to photograph, these shy birds are very colourful and I managed to get a reasonable picture of it.

I have enlarged the bird in the photo to get a better look at it. Feeding on insects - especially ants - this is Britain's largest woodpecker. Anyone who can remember 'Bagpuss', the children's TV programme of yesteryear, may remember the wooden book-end which was carved into the shape of a Green Woodpecker. His name was Professor Yaffle. The name makes reference to the call of the Green Woodpecker which is a loud laughing sound called a 'Yaffle'.
Remember this picture of Mapperley Reservoir taken earlier this year?

Well, looking at the same view this morning reveals just how dry the weather has been lately. The water level in the Reservoir is at least 2ft lower than normal revealing the very muddy bottom.

Autumnal colours are beginning to return to the trees once again and the helicopter seeds of the Maple trees are ripening and beginning to fall.

The red leaf stems and the yellowing leaves brighten the hedgerows on a dull, overcast day.