Weaselling a ride – woodpecker style!

An amateur photographer out on a walk managed to capture this unusual scenario. Picture: Martin Le-May

An amateur photographer out on a walk managed to capture this unusual scenario. Picture: Martin Le-May

Published Mar 4, 2015

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London – When your little paws are tired from scampering through the grass, there’s only one thing to do – hitch a lift from a passing woodpecker.

That, at least, seems to be what the cunning weasel in this astonishing picture has done.

The little mammal (average weight 6oz) clings to the back of the red, green and speckled woodpecker (about 7oz) as they whizz through the air at a heady six feet.

The remarkable encounter was captured by amateur photographer Martin Le-May, whose images have been declared ‘highly unusual’ but genuine by wildlife experts.

‘It’s the most amazing set of photographs I have ever taken,’ said Mr Le-May, 52, who had been walking in Hornchurch Country Park, East London, with his wife Ann and his long lens camera when he heard a ‘distressed squawking’.

‘We saw the bird in the grass,’ he said. ‘It seemed to be hopping around strangely as if it was stepping on a hot surface. Then it flew towards us. I realised it had something small and furry on its back. At that stage I didn’t know what it was. It didn’t have a long tail like a rat or a bushy tail like a squirrel.

‘The woodpecker flew for around 15 yards and got about six feet off the ground before landing in front of us. We feared the worst, expecting to find the woodpecker had been killed.

‘But it then seized the opportunity and flew away. You could see it was shaken, but it was still in one piece.’

Daily Mail

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