Tchik, Tchik

For once the first woodpecker I heard this morning in the garden, from the balcony, was NOT a Syrian. No, as I stepped out I heard the sharp, harsh tchik, tchik of a Great Spotted Woodpecker coming from the hazel that borders the neighbouring garden. I suppose this call, one of its most regular and familiar calls, could be written as chick, chick or even kik, kik ... much is in the ear of the beholder. It takes a little time to differentiate this call from a similar one made by Syrian, which is softer, less sharp, less harsh, but after a while, having heard both species regularly, one gets one's ear in.