Short Stories: The Laughing Woodpeckers

I was in the kitchen, reading a book when suddenly, I heard a familiar call. A call that sounded like laughing. I rushed to the kitchen window and looked up into the ash tree. I could then pinpoint the origin of the sound. An adult green woodpecker. It was hopping up the branches of the tree, still calling. Then, another appeared. A young one this time.

I carried on watching this pair. The young one seemed to like making himself obvious as he always sat right at the top of the tree. Whereas the adult was more secretive, always hiding in the tree’s dense leaves. It blended in incredibly well. They were such a beautiful sight, all the colours contrasted really well with each other. All you could see was a red stripe. I walked away feeling good and carried on with my book. This was only the second time I had seen a green woodpecker.