Great Spotted Woodpecker

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Great Spotted Woodpecker in the UK

Great Spotted Woodpecker is a common resident across England, Wales and mainland Scotland, with about 130,000 pairs. It is Green-listed and has done well: numbers have risen by more than 370% since 1967, with rapid growth in the 1970s and again from the late 1990s. The range has spread north and west. It has also colonised Ireland, where breeding was first proved in Northern Ireland in 2006 and in the Republic in 2009. It is still absent from the Northern Isles and Outer Hebrides.

Where and when to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker

Any woodland with mature trees, plus parks, large gardens, hedgerow trees and conifer plantations. It visits garden feeders for peanuts and fat, most often in winter and again in June when adults bring fledged young. Listen for drumming from January to April, mainly in the morning. Outside spring, find it by the call. Check dead branches high in the canopy, and look for a bird bounding between trees.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Woodland, gardens.
Diet: Insects, nuts.
Field note: Drums in spring.

How to identify a Great Spotted Woodpecker

About the size of a Blackbird. Black and white, with a large white oval patch on each shoulder and bright red under the tail. The underparts are plain buff-white with no streaks. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head. Females have none. Juveniles have a full red crown and a paler pink vent. It climbs trunks in jerky hops, propped on its tail. Flight is deeply bounding: a burst of flaps, then wings closed.

Call and song

The call is a sharp, loud 'kick!', sometimes run into a chatter when alarmed. The drum is very fast and short, under a second, and fades at the end. Both sexes drum on dead branches, and sometimes on metal poles. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Lesser Spotted Woodpecker: Lesser Spotted is sparrow-sized with white bars across the back, no shoulder patches and no red under the tail.
• Green Woodpecker: Green Woodpecker is larger, green with a yellow rump, feeds on the ground and has a laughing call.

Related guide UK garden birds.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great Spotted Woodpecker is a Common tier bird, worth +1 point when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• White-backed WoodpeckerLegendary · Old forest (extreme vagrant)
• Blue TitCommon · Woodland
• Eurasian BlackcapCommon · Woodland
• European RobinCommon · Gardens
• Great TitCommon · Woodland
• Song ThrushCommon · Gardens

Great Spotted Woodpecker: quick answers

Where can I see a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the UK?

In almost any wood or wooded park in Britain. A peanut feeder near mature trees is the easiest way to get close views. In Ireland it is still spreading and is more local.

What does a Great Spotted Woodpecker eat?

Insects and their larvae dug from dead wood, plus seeds and nuts. It wedges pine cones and nuts into a crevice to hammer them open. In spring it also takes eggs and chicks of other birds, and can break into nest boxes to reach them.

What is the difference between Great Spotted Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker?

Size settles it. Great Spotted is Blackbird-sized and Lesser Spotted is barely bigger than a House Sparrow. Lesser Spotted is also now a rare and declining bird, so a black and white woodpecker on a garden feeder is almost always a Great Spotted. Beware juveniles, whose red crown suggests a male Lesser Spotted.

Kit that helps

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