Lesser Spot Network

Yes, a definite glimmer of hope. If the positive results in Sussex and Hampshire are indicative of woodlands in other parts of the country, including the Sheffield area, numbers of Lesser Spots could be higher than we all thought.

Our paper in December's @britishbirds.bsky.social describes success in using sound recording for detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. We found Lesser Spots still present in woodlands where they have not been seen/heard for years. This is very exciting www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

You can contact us by email to info@woodpecker-network.org.uk or through our website www.woodpecker-network.org.uk

Excellent thread from @btobirds.bsky.social on this game changing development for studying Lesser Spots

Huge thanks to BTO, especially @simongillings.bsky.social for working with us to develop this sound classifier for Lesser Spots. We will be using sound detectors in more woods in the spring. Please get in touch if you would like to help.

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Excellent @britishbirds.bsky.social paper from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social et al. using passive acoustic monitoring.

LS detected at >60% of sites in southern England, most of which had no recent records. Drums/calls very few over thousands of hours. Birders' chances of an encounter clearly very low!

Thanks Julian, we are optimistic that passive acoustic monitoring will lead to a better understanding of Lesser Spots

Brilliant to see the most Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests monitored, and how acoustic monitoring is being used. Great work @lesserspotnet.bsky.social!

You can discover more about acoustic monitoring and donate to our appeal here: www.bto.org/support-us/a...

Wonderful morning at the Wyre forest rewarded with 20 min of a pair of lesser spotted woodpecker crisp morning perfect @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

See this encouraging update about Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in the UK.

We will have the pleasure of hearing more from Ken and Linda Smith of the LesserSpot Network when they give a talk for BOC about their work, on 18th February 2026 (get it in your diary).
#ukbirding

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at its nest in New Forest, photo by Steve Laycock

Six Lesser Spot young in a Quantocks nest, photo Gus Robin

Something to celebrate - our 2025 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker report - successful breeding season, the most nests monitored & highest number of chicks fledged per nest since we started in 2015. Acoustic monitoring giving amazing results too, download here www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/images/L_S_W...

This is a brilliant initiative. Woodpecker Network is working with BTO to develop a passive acoustic monitoring module for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Trials have proved successful in reliably detecting their drums and calls, revealing many new locations.

This is a brilliant initiative. Woodpecker Network is working with BTO to develop a passive acoustic monitoring module for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Trials have proved successful in reliably detecting their drums and calls, revealing many new locations. We are taking this forward in spring 2026

Gerard, the sample pages of your latest book look great, we are looking forward to reading THE PIED WOODPECKERS and have pre-ordered our copy

Here is another sample page from my forthcoming book THE PIED WOODPECKERS. Due out February 2026.

Congratulations Julian, very well deserved.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by Richard Jacobs

We hear that LesserSpotNet volunteer Toby @tobywildlife.bsky.social will be featuring on Countryfile, BBC1 this Sunday at 17:15, in an item on the ecology of Herefordshire’s habitats - it could well be interesting.

Congratulations Jamie,

Nice walk in the Wyre forest good to hear LSW calling the second time in a week at this location

Thanks Julian, a well observed summary. It was great to catch up with you at the #BOUatEOU Woodland Birds meeting in Bangor.

Experts help unlock the secrets of our smallest woodpecker ​Leading ornithologists from across the world met in Bangor last week as the University hosted the European Ornithologists Union conference. It is only the second time the UK has been the venue for...

In the week the @eounion.bsky.social met @bangoruniversity.bsky.social, latest findings from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social provide hope for this hard-to-find bird.

@northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes also rounds up the week's scarcer sightings. #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/experts...

I've made it to #EOU2025 in Bangor, and I'm starting with the #BOUatEOU symposium on #WoodlandBirds. Lovely talk by Ken Smith, who's been studying the nesting habits of #LesserSpottedWoodpeckers in the UK over decades. #CitizenScience @lesserspotnet.bsky.social @bou.org.uk @eounion.bsky.social

7 Acknowledgements - Thanks to all these Woodpecker Network volunteers for searching for and monitoring nests in 2025 and to many more who helped in this and previous years collecting this amazing data on our beautiful woodpecker

6 2025 was one of the warmest springs ever. As a result, all LSW nests hatched after the peak of caterpillars on 30th April and had to switch to an aphid diet. An abundance of aphids in 2025 let LSW escape from phenological mismatch with the caterpillars

5 LSW nesting is getting earlier. Throughout its range LSW is a late nesting woodpecker. This is probably adaptive to help the survival of small chicks. But in any year the earlier nesting birds are more successful. They can switch nestling diet to aphids once the caterpillars are gone.

4 Nationally there is a long-term decline in numbers of young fledged per nest (P=0.007) from about 4 to about 2 …but 2025 was the best year since our project started! The number of chicks fledged was the highest since we started the project in 2015

3 LSW excavate a nesting cavity each year, always in dead trees or in dead branches of live trees. The tree species has changed over the years now pioneers like Birch, Alder, Willow and Rowan are favoured

2 Since 1968 the LSW population has declined severely and their breeding distribution has contracted with birds lost from East Anglia, NE, central and SW England and Wales. Population estimated at 2000-3000 pairs. Breeding success is low compared with the rest of Europe

1 Pleased to be presenting the latest results gathered by Woodpecker-Network volunteers on Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and what we can do to conserve them better #BOUatEOU www.woodpecker-netwo...

We will also be posting a BlueSky presentation alongside our talk at 12:15 on Monday, so look out for it. Details here. bou.org.uk/wp-content/u...