Woodpecker lucky to weasel its way out of this one

Amateur photographer grabs shots of predator gripping back of terrorised bird mid-flight

Weasels on the hunt for a meal might not be found wanting in guts, as this remarkable series of photographs taken in London on Monday show.

Amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex, took the shots of a weasel flying on the back of a green woodpecker in east London on Monday.

The shots were taken at Hornchurch Country Park in east London.

Mr Le-May told BBC News he had been out walking with his wife Ann at the time.

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He said: “I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst.

“I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back.

“I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass.”

The wildlife shot has been retweeted several thousand times.

He said: “I’m so proud so many people are getting to see my image. I’m totally taken aback by the response to it.”

Peter Smyth

Peter Smyth is a digital production journalist at The Irish Times