Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - October 2001 - No 67
Ian Morgan

There has been some dispute recently as to the status of the Green Woodpecker in west and NW Carmarthenshire, with Julian Friese suggesting it is absent or scarce in many parts of that area – a view that I support.  In my opinion, this woodpecker is most frequent on the thinly wooded upper slopes of the Coalfield valleys (eg Amman Valley), where the small copses etc and unimproved grassland with frequent yellow meadow ant Lasius flavus mound nests provide optimum habitat (it feeds on ants).  It also occurs on old spoil tip areas such as at Mynydd Mawr, Tumble.