Richard Collins: Woodpeckers turning up in every Irish county now — have you spotted any?

There are 44 names for the green woodpecker in England alone, including 'yaffle'...  which is inspired by its loud call

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) has been recorded in every Irish county, except Mayo

Finn, my 14-year-old grandson, is a keen 'twitcher'. Visiting Madrid’s El Retiro Park last week, he spotted a green woodpecker.

This exotic species, with its bright red head and yellow rump, is common throughout most of Europe. The Spanish bird, however, is somewhat different from its counterparts elsewhere; it lacks the black face-mask of its cousins and the adult male’s red ‘moustaches’ are different. These characteristics led to the green woodpecker of Spain and Portugal being deemed a ‘sub-species’. Then, in 2001, following mitochondrial DNA analysis, the Iberian green woodpecker was given ’species’ status.