The Woodpecker Network

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Lots of activity in the past few weeks, thanks everyone for your Lesser Spot sightings and news of nest excavations.

Our Lesser Spot nest inspection cameras and telescopic poles are all ready to go. We just need some more nests to inspect!

We have been over to Dorset to collect our nest cameras from Wildlife Windows. They have been refurbished and are ready for action.

We’ve had a great response to our appeal with well over 50 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sites reported so far.
At a few sites the birds have been seen excavating a nest cavity, but the majority are areas where calling and drumming birds have been found.
We appreciate that it is a bit of a challenge but now is the time to try to pin down the nest sites. Pairs will be concentrating their activity near their potential nest site and cavity excavation will start in earnest now. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers lay their first eggs from mid-April until early May so the cavity will need to be complete quite soon.

It has been a great two weeks for finding Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. The weather has been reasonably calm and warm (at least in the south) and, for Lesser Spots, the birds have been drumming and calling reliably.

Rob Clements was searching an area of the New Forest north east of Lyndhurst on Friday and reports that Lesser Spots were very active between 8-9 am, with lots of drumming involving 4-5 birds. Nigel Owen saw a pair chasing at another site in the Forest at 9.15 am.

LSW RichardJacobs leftcolLesser Spotted Woodpecker by Richard Jacobs 2019 LSW TimPreston 256Lesser Spotted Woodpecker © Tim Preston

Don't confuse juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers with male Lesser Spots - they both have red caps!

Dont confuse your woodpeckers

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