Wonky is a Great Spotted Woodpecker who lives in our play area at Abbotts Walk. When we were building the play area, a Great Spotted Woodpecker liked it so much that he decided to move in and make it his new home. After discovering he had moved in, we decided to name him Wonky. 

We called him Wonky because he has a wonky beak!

Great Spotted Woodpeckers such as Wonky use their beaks to hunt for food and to drum on trees to tell other woodpeckers that this is their home. When Wonky arrived in Winchester, he first landed on the statue of Alfred the Great in the town centre. He was so tired that he thought it was a tree and when he pecked it, he bent his beak!

We know Wonky is a young woodpecker because he has quite a large red patch on the top of his head which shows that he is not fully grown. 

After arriving, Wonky soon spotted the lovely new play area at Abbotts Walk and decided to make it his home. He quickly made three friends there - a fox, an owl and a hedgehog. We don’t know the names of Wonky’s friends but cheeky Wonky has hidden clues around the play areas of Winchester to help us find out. To discover the names of Wonky's friends you need to complete the Wonky Walks..

 

There are 3 routes to explore:

• Completing Route 1 in Stanmore and Weeke will tell you the name of Wonky’s fox friend
• Completing Route 2 in the City Centre will tell you the name of Wonky’s hedgehog friend.
• Completing Route 3 in Highcliffe and Winnall will tell you the name of Wonky’s owl friend.

Copies of the route maps can be downloaded on the right hand side of this page