Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers: 2023 report
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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.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests update May 2023
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An interestingly different Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nesting season so far. The birds were active as usual in early spring but many seem to have delayed egg laying, perhaps due to the cold weather in April.
Two nests have almost the latest 'first egg dates' in our data set, 15th May. In previous years the birds have started laying on about 28th April
LesserSpotNet volunteers are watching 12 nests, and we expect more to be found now that adults are starting to feed the young and become more visible again.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker monitoring update April 2023
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Thanks everyone for records sent in so far. Calling, drumming and displaying birds have been reported from most of the sites monitored in 2022 plus some new locations, including in Berkshire, Norfolk, Surrey and Sussex. Pairs excavating nest cavities have been found in three locations so far.
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers 2023 spring update
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All records of Lesser Spots in February or March are important as their presence at this time of year of is a good indication that they may be breeding in the area.
Records are needed to monitor their current population and how well they are doing in an area.
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in 2022 report
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Woodpecker Network Breeding Season Report *
Another interesting and successful year for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in 2022. Thanks to the efforts of all our volunteers and collaborators we were able to collect breeding data from 19 nests. These were relatively successful with an average of just over 3.0 young fledged per nest which was the second best season since we started the monitoring in 2015 (8 years in total).