Great Spotted Woodpecker Family.......bringing new life to the woods

 

Dad of the Year 2025.......this incredible father (on the right) is looking thin and absolutely drained after single handedly, bringing up 5 chicks!

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is one of our most striking woodland birds, instantly recognisable by its distinctive black and white plumage and powerful drumming sounds that echo through forests. These remarkable birds have successfully adapted to various habitats, from ancient woodlands to urban parks, making them a familiar sight to many. What makes these woodpeckers particularly fascinating is their incredible physical adaptations. They can 'peck' at trees at speeds of up to 16 times per second without getting concussions, thanks to special shock absorbing tissue in their skulls. 

Great Spotted Woodpeckers inhabit various wooded environments, from deciduous and mixed woodlands to urban parks and gardens. They show a particular preference for mature woodlands with plenty of dead or dying trees, which provide both food sources and nesting opportunities.

My particular family started to excavate their new nest in my woods on the 5th April 2025 (rarely do these birds re-use nests from previous years, preferring to start afresh each year in a new home). They usually take between 2 to 3 weeks to complete a nest cavity and both male and female birds participate in the excavation. The process begins with the selection of a suitable tree, usually one with some decay that makes excavation easier. The birds create a round entrance hole about 50 mm in diameter, followed by a vertical chamber that can be 20 to 30 cm deep. These woodpeckers often create multiple excavations before selecting their final nesting site, ensuring they choose the most suitable location. 

Here, the female can be seen working on enlarging the opening.

This particular opening had a depth through the trunk of around 4cms, before they broke through into the cavity behind.

Once inside, it's time to expand the interior space and I was treated to many shots of clouds of dust and debris.

Clearing out the interior.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers typically lay their eggs between mid April and early May. The exact timing can vary depending on weather conditions and food availability. The female usually lays one egg each day until the clutch is complete. This synchronisation helps ensure that the chicks will hatch when insect food is becoming more abundant in late spring and early summer, as well as spreading the risk of predation. They usually produce only one clutch per year, unless the first attempt fails early in the season.

Female at nest entrance.

Male leaving nest.

Great Spotted Woodpecker eggs typically take 10 to 12 days to hatch and both parents normally share incubation duties, taking turns to keep the eggs at the optimal temperature for development. My pairs behaviour initially changed around the 10th May, which is when I believe that the egg laying commenced. At this point, the male was kept busy bringing back food for the female, who was still laying and sitting on the eggs. Occasionaly, she woud leave the nest to feed and the male would take over incubating duties. A pair typically raises 4 to 6 chicks per brood, corresponding to the number of eggs laid. However, not all chicks may survive to fledging, with survival rates depending on factors such as food availability, weather conditions and predation. Chicks typically fledge at around 3 to 4 weeks after hatching and they normally continue to be fed by both parents for up to another week after leaving the nest.

However, the 17th of May, was the last time that I observed the adult female at the nest location......in addition, she also stopped visiting my 'feeding station' nearby! We will never know if she was predated, or simply had her head turned by another male? It was as though she had done her job of producing eggs and simply left the male to it! This is most unusual behaviour and it was left to the male to both sit on the eggs for the next week until they started to hatch, with the occasional foray to find himself food.

This poor male, was now responsible for incubating the eggs and then continuously feeding the chicks until they fledged!

 

It was reassuring to see it visit my 'feeding station', where it was guaranteed to find fat balls and sunflower seeds.

It was around the 20th May, that I heard the first sounds of chicks in the nest, with their low sounding and slightly muffled calls for food. 'Dad', really had the pressure on him to perform now. Over the following days and weeks, he would leave the nest at anything from 5-20 minute intervals to find food for the youngsters. 

Dragonflies, Spiders and 'other' bugs were regularly being delivered to the nest.

One of the biggest dangers to chicks at this stage of their life, is the threat of predation from other birds such as Starlings, who will take both eggs and chicks from these nests. Much to my horror, I captured the following two images whilst watching the nest. Fortunately, neither visit resulted in any damage, other than my raised blood pressure!

Starlings are known to take eggs and chicks from Woodpecker's nests!

As they continued to grow and increase in number (remember that the eggs were layed and hatched at 24 hr intervals), he would be expected to bring in larger amounts of food to keep up with their demands. Initially, he would disappear deep into the nest to give them the food. However, after two more weeks, they were growing bigger and I got my first glimpse of the oldest chick, as it was able to reach up to the nest entrance.

After 8 weeks of watching and waiting, I finally had my first glimpse of one of this years chicks!

As they all continued to grow, the noise of their hungry voices grew louder and poor 'dad' was forced to spend every woken moment searching for food. How he achieved this, was truly a wonder of nature and my admiration for this 'lone parent' grew with every hour that I watched him.

Waiting for another 'takeaway' delivery.

Over the next week, I spent 4-5 hrs each day waiting for the youngsters to fledge and although I managed some images of them just outside the nest, the actual moment of 'departure' eluded me. Hours of them teetering on the edge were constantly dashed as they lost their nerve and retreated into the nest! Needless to say, the moment I turned my back, or needed to leave the hide, they were off!

Here are some images from moments just before and just after some of them fledged:

You can tell that it really wants to explore life outside the nest.

Taking a good look around!

Wondering what it's really like out there.

Freedom and time to explore.

Trepidation!

A big new world out there.

Over the next few days, I witnessed 5 birds fledge the nest and 'dad' continued to feed them for a number of days afterwards whilst still in the woods. Shortly afterwards, it was great to see him bring them to my 'feeding station', where he showed them the ropes and taught them that an easy meal was always available if needed.

It also gave me the opportunity to photograph them in a new location and know that I had witnessed this incredible father bring new lives to the woods near my home against all the odds!

Tackling a difficult subject!!

The above images were taken over a 12 week period and cover the time from nest building to youngsters fledging. 

Once located, a 'hide' was installed around 30 meters from the nesting site, so as not to disturb them. Most days a period of 2-3 hours was spent observing the birds and their habits. 

Other shots when the youngsters had fledged, were taken from one of their favourite feeding locations, which allowed considerably more light on the subjects!

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Cheers

Glynn