Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers 2024 Report
- Details
Sadly 2024 has been one of the poorest breeding seasons for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers since Woodpecker Network was started in 2015. Only eleven nests were found, some at a very late stage and, on average, only just over one young fledged per nest. This is probably not enough to sustain the population. Read the full 2024 report
Is that a Lesser Spotted or Great Spotted Woodpecker in your garden?
- Details
Don't get confused! At this time of year, if you see a Woodpecker with a bright red cap in your garden, it will be a young Great Spotted Woodpecker not a Lesser Spot.
This photo shows an adult male Great Spot with its youngster, note the young Great Spot has a bright red cap.
Note that Great Spots have long white shoulder patches and red unter the tail, Lesser Spots do not have these and are much smaller.
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers nesting update
- Details
Woodpeckers are nesting now, both Lesser Spotted and Great Spotted are feeding young at their nests in cavities in trees.
Our team of Lesser Spot Network volunteers are observing several Lesser Spot nests to establish the outcomes.
This nest is high in a poplar tree, the male adult LSW is bringing food for a male chick peeping out of the nest hole.
Please get in touch (in confidence) if you have any information about a nest.
When watching a nest please take care not to disturb the birds
April 2024 Lesser Spot nesting update
- Details
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch with information about Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers this year. The breeding season has started eary this year with nest excavtions reported so far from the New Forest, Somerset, Devon and Norfolk. At one nest incubation has already started, which is the earliest recorded for the project. Plese keep the information coming in. Please take care not to disturb the birds when making your observations.
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers: 2023 report
- Details
Lesser Spot young (3 male chicks) in a nest Somerset 2023 - photo Gus RobinWoodpecker Network Breeding Season Report
Thanks to the efforts of all our LesserSpotNet collaborators we were able to collect breeding data from 21 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests in 2023.
It was a very mixed breeding season but, overall, the number of young fledged was 2.4 young per nest, pretty much in line with the long term average.
The nests monitored in 2023 were from nine counties with most in Hampshire and Somerset. Thanks to a dedicated team in the New Forest, Hampshire continues to be the key county. In Somerset concerted efforts by a small team led by Gus Robin resulted in five nests being found, doubling the county total since 2015. It was great news that a nest was found in Essex at a site with regular records of drumming and calling birds – the first nest monitored in Essex since the project started in 2015.