Greater Spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers
This blog is based on a piece we wrote for the woodlands.co.uk blog site earlier this year.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker in Woodcock Wood
The Greater Spotted Woodpecker makes its presence felt in many ways in Woodcock Wood. The evocative spells of drumming when the male is establishing its territory; the swift undulating flight between high trees; the sustained attacks on our tit nest boxes unless metal plates are fitted around the entrance holes; and occasionally, just occasionally, the sight of its unmistakable profile on the side of a tree, or under a bough, while it is foraging for grubs and larvae in the bark. They are stunning birds seen close to, dressed in their black, white and scarlet.
Distribution of the Greater and Lesser Spotted
The Greater Spotted Woodpecker is a success story. Its numbers have been increasing in UK since the 1970s and it is now relatively common in urban parks and wooded gardens. But not so the diminutive and secretive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which is neither common, nor easy to find. In UK its distribution is contracting and breeding success has been declining, and this is likely to be the case in Portugal and Spain.
We have Greater Spotted in Woodcock Wood and we see and hear them frequently in Portugal where they spend a lot of time exploring the three old walnut trees we can see from our back balcony.
We have only twice seen Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, on both occasions in Portugal in our walnut tree, and on both occasions it was their call that first attracted our attention to them. The first time we saw a single male working his way up the main trunk, but deep within the foliage of the tree. And last year we had a clear view of a pair that spent about 10 minutes in noisy interaction in the tree before moving on.
Appearance of the Lesser and Greater Spotted
Both species are basically black and white. In both, the male has a red flash on the head, which the female lacks. Both male and female Greater Spotted are bright red on the vent. The Lesser Spotted lacks this.
But there is of course no chance of confusion between the two because the size difference is so marked. The Lesser Spotted is not much bigger than a sparrow (see picture below for a comparison).
Excavation of nesting holes
In addition to their plumage, what they both have in common is their inveterate excavation of holes, so much so indeed, that other birds either depend on them, or take advantage of the holes they create.
The Nuthatch for instance shows a strong preference for old woodpecker holes. The female Nuthatch will reduce the size of the entrance with a thick wall of mud to discourage later raids upon the nest from predators, such as Magpies and indeed Greater Spotted Woodpeckers – the Greater Spotted has its dark side! See: www.woodcockwood.com/the-eurasian-nuthatch/
You might think that a powerful bird like the Greater Spotted could defend its home with ease, but in fact the Common Starling will often displace the Greater Spotted from its new hole, and the woodpecker starts afresh. (It is a sad fact that one of the reasons accounting for the increase in Greater Spotted numbers is the dramatic decline in the numbers of the Common Starling.) Also, there are plenty of records of tits displacing the Lesser Spotted from a new hole. It seems that they, and their larger relative, are more likely to abandon the nest after disturbance, than defend it.
Normally the Greater Spotted will excavate a new nest hole each year. They often choose the same tree as the previous year, constructing their hole lower down the tree, as trees tend to die back from the top down, and year on year the softer wood descends.
The Greater Spotted will use live and dead trees for their excavations, but they have a strong preference for dead trees. Lesser Spotted are more selective, and prefer dead wood, or the dead limbs of a growing tree.
As far as I know, there are only two other British species that excavate holes in trees, the Greater Spotted’s big brother the Green Woodpecker, and perhaps surprisingly, the Willow Tit. Surprisingly because the Willow Tit isn’t equipped with the mighty chisel beak of the woodpecker, but is still able to carve out a small but complete hole. Also, unlike the woodpecker, it favours living rather than dead wood – the solid texture of which is an additional defence against intruders.
Well, hats off to our hole-building friends. Their skill and their dedication to creating holes provides considerable benefit to less capable cavity and hole nesters in our woods.
If you observe Lesser Spotted nesting in the UK the research forum www.woodpecker-network.org.uk would value the information you can provide.