Greater Spotted Woodpeckers - (and 4 days sitting in a hide!)

Male Greater Spotted Woodpecker - note the red section at the back of the head

Greater spotted woodpeckers are attractive birds with interesting behaviour, that are a real pleasure to watch. The good news, is that they are increasing in numbers and it certainly seems to be easier to find them these days than in the past. They are resident birds so can be found in any season, although as woodland birds, it's probably easier to see them in winter when the trees are devoid of leaves.

Female Greater Spotted Woodpecker

The birds are black and white with a red under-tail. the male also has a small patch of red on the back of the head, lacking in the female. Juvenile birds also have a red crown, which turns to black, as they mature. The layout of the black and white markings is similar in all birds with some small variation. 

In flight, greater spotted woodpeckers exhibit an unmistakable undulating flight that is so typical of all woodpeckers. They also make a loud 'Clack' alarm call, especially when danger (photographers) approaches.

They are quite nervous birds and seldom hang around once they've spotted you, or alternatively climb higher up the tree to the top of the canopy. So although they are easy to find they are not easy to photograph unless you have some form of hide or camouflage. They do use feeders so setting one up with some place to hide nearby can be an effective way of getting a good shot. Alternatively you can use an existing hide and feeding station. All of these photo's, were taken from my portable hide, just 4 meters away from a favourite tree. Despite the use of the hide, it still took 4 days patiently waiting for them to arrive and strike just the 'right' pose for me!

Both males and females will hammer away at a tree to build their nest, using 10-40 strikes of their dagger-like beaks per second to chip away splinters of wood. A hollowed out hole in the tree trunk is an ideal spot to lay their clutch of white eggs which take just 12 days to incubate and hatch. The pair will rarely return to use this spot for a second year, leaving many holes for other birds to move into.

However, greater spotted woodpeckers don’t just drum on trees to make their houses: drumming is a vital part of the courting ritual. Single males will drum up to three times more than paired woodpeckers in order to seek a mate (the speed of the drumming, is also much faster when seeking a mate). Having deciduous trees in your back garden can help provide the perfect platform for potential woodpecker pairs, with courtship drumming starting in January and continuing until about June.

New parents can be seen bringing their juveniles into the garden to teach them how to break open hard seeds and nuts. However, if you know you have nesting woodpeckers nearby, it’s a good idea to put some markings on your windows, as crashing into windows is the main cause of death among young woodpeckers.

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