Great Spotted Woodpecker

Above: Great Spotted Woodpecker (male).
Below: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (male).

Great spotted woodpeckers are attractive birds with interesting behaviour, that are a real pleasure to watch. I don't know if they are increasing in numbers but it certainly seems to me to be easier to find them these days than it has been in the past. They are resident birds so can be found in any season, although as woodland birds, it's probably easier to see them in winter when the trees are devoid of leaves.

The birds are black and white with a red under-tail coverts. the male also has a small patch of red on the back of the head, lacking in the female. Juvenile birds also have a red crown. The layout of the black and white markings is similar in all birds with some small variation. The adult male shown on the left being fairly typical. The lesser spotted woodpecker shown below left for comparison is a much smaller bird with a more broken white pattern on it's black back and a red crown in the male.

In flight great spotted woodpeckers exhibit an unmistakable undulating flight that is so typical of woodpeckers. They also make a loud 'Chack' call, usually when they see you approaching.

They are quite nervous birds and seldom hang around once they've spotted you or advance higher up the tree to the top of the canopy. So although they are easy to find they are not easy to photograph unless you have some form of hide or camouflage. They do use feeders so setting one up with some place to hide nearby can be an effective way of getting a good shot. Alternatively you can use an existing hide and feeding station.

I've seen and photographed great spotted woodpeckers at Pennington Flash, Moore Nature Reserve, Rixton Clay Pits and Risley Moss. All except Rixton has a feeding station overlooked by a hide. However at Pennington you're only likely to get a shot of the birds on the feeders, something that I do occasionally but prefer not to do, as I prefer a more natural setting. At Moore I find the light is not always great, although this may be better now that they have cleared some of the trees to the left. The best place for these birds that I know is Risley Moss. The hide overlooks a small feeding area with some trees on which fat is liberally applied. The woodpeckers appear to love it and it's possible to get fine photographs on bright (not necessarily sunny) days.