Bird of the Month - Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

In last month's 'Bird of the Month' blog we looked at the Dipper, which spends its life amongst the rushing waters of the River Teign. This month we head up into the remnants of ancient Oak woodland which cling to the valley sides, in search of one of Fingle’s rarest birds.Throughout the 20^th Century, much of Fingle Woods was planted with a variety of conifer species for harvesting as a commercial timber crop. The Woodland Trust and National Trust have embarked on a long-term plan to restore these areas to broadleaf woodland through a gradual process of thinning the conifers, allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor and aid the regeneration of native trees and plants.Scattered amongst these conifers there are still pockets of ancient Sessile Oak woodland – a relic of the days when much of the valley was covered in coppice which would have been regularly cut and burned to produce charcoal. Most of the remaining Oak woodland is on the slopes high above the river, in areas too steep or waterlogged to be viable for conifer planting and harvesting.Walking through these gnarled Oak trees in March, with spring in the air but the branches still bare of foliage, you might see a flicker of movement as a black-and-white bird flits between tree trunks. Often this will be a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), our commonest woodpecker species which is found in a variety of habitats from dense woodland to urban parks and gardens. Take a second look though, because at Fingle there’s also a chance you might have just seen its much rarer cousin, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor).As its name suggests, the Sparrow-sized Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a much smaller bird than the Starling-sized Great Spotted. It also has much more specific habitat needs, being found almost exclusively in mature Oak woodland, particularly in areas with a relatively open canopy and significant amounts of standing deadwood. A year-round resident, it survives through the winter months by feeding on insect larvae found in dead branches, while during the spring and summer its diet is supplemented by aphids and caterpillars found within the canopy.Although at first glance the UK’s two black-and-white woodpecker species may look quite similar, there are actually a number of easy ways to tell them apart. Aside from the size difference, the most reliable features are the large white shoulder patch and red beneath the tail, both of which are present on the Great Spotted but absent on the Lesser. Both species have a similar “Kek” call, but the Lesser Spotted also has a “song” consisting of a series of rapid “pi-pi-pi” notes which can be heard during early mornings in February and March. Detection by ear can be difficult though – in an attempt to get a recording of the song for this article I spent 5 hours in an active Lesser Spotted territory without hearing a single call! Both species also “drum”, with the Lesser’s drumming being generally slower and weaker than the Great Spotted.Link to a recording of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker "song" by Stanislas WrozaNesting takes place in a cavity with an entrance hole of around 30mm diameter, which the bird will excavate either from a dead tree or the decaying limb of a live tree. A clutch of 4 – 6 eggs is laid in late April, with the young fledging about 5 weeks later in late May or early June. The weeks before and after fledging are another good time to find woodpeckers as the young produce loud “begging” calls which can be heard from quite a distance away.The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is on the UK “Red List” of bird species of conservation concern, due to the UK population having suffered significant declines across the UK over the last few decades, with current estimates suggesting there may be fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs remaining. The exact reasons for this decline are not certain but may be linked to loss of landscape-scale woodland connectivity, as well as a lack of suitable dead wood habitat for foraging and nesting. There is currently a project underway in Fingle Woods to “veteranize” a selection of trees within the broadleaf areas to increase the amount of standing deadwood and create a more diverse woodland structure. Hopefully this work, along with the longer-term goal of converting the conifer plantations back to broadleaf woodland, will increase the amount of suitable habitat for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers on the site and ensure Fingle remains a stronghold for this colourful but elusive bird.Photos and text by Tom WilliamsIf you would like to know more about birds at Fingle, Tom will be writing a monthly blog this year shining a light on a seasonal species. The results of last year's Breeding Bird Survey can also be found here - Fingle Breeding Bird Survey Report 2019  Please note, this blog was written at the beginning of March before the current lockdown. We advise people to carry out recreational activities as locally as possible, and not to make unnecessary journeys to woods elsewhere by car. Fingle remains open but only if you:

• can access it from your home without driving
• maintain social distancing by staying at least 2 metres away from other people
• follow the recommended hygiene guidance.