Great Spotted Woodpecker

Identification

A pied woodpecker whose black upperparts are broken by two big oval white shoulder patches — the field mark that separates it from almost every other European woodpecker. The wings are barred black and white, the underparts are off-white with a wash of pinkish red under the tail, and a black stripe runs back from the bill, through the eye, to the side of the neck. The sexes differ in one place only: the male carries a crimson patch on the nape, the female's nape is plain black. Juveniles wear a full red crown that fades before their first autumn.

Insects and wood-boring larvae make up most of the summer diet, prised out with a chisel bill and a tongue that flicks far beyond the tip. From autumn it switches to pine seeds, hazelnuts and beechmast, wedging cones into a favourite anvil — a tree crevice or a fence post — and hammering them open; the litter of stripped scales underneath gives the spot away. Each spring it cuts a fresh nest hole, usually in a dying birch or alder, and the abandoned cavities are later taken over by starlings, tits and bats. The common call is a sharp, explosive 'kick', often doubled, and both sexes drum in short bursts of about a dozen strikes on dead, resonant branches.

It is easy to find year-round in parks, cemeteries and older gardens with mature trees, and bold enough to come to peanut and suet feeders, where it will chase off tits and finches. February to April is the loudest period: listen for the drumming roll, or for the scolding 'kick' that usually announces the bird before you see it. Fresh rectangular digging in rotten trunks, and cone anvils surrounded by stripped scales, are reliable signs that one is working the area.

Drumming, calling and territory

Both sexes drum, and drumming is not feeding. It is a signal, delivered in short bursts of about a dozen strikes on a dead, resonant branch, and it carries much further than the voice. The rhythm is fast enough to blur into a single rolling note and is quite different from the slower, more deliberate tapping of a bird working for insects.

The call is a sharp, explosive kick, very often doubled. It serves as contact between pair members, as a scolding note when a cat or a person is nearby, and as the alarm that usually tells you a bird is present before you see it. From January the drumming and calling build up, and February to April is the loudest period of the year.

Feeding and the anvil

Insects and wood-boring larvae dominate the summer diet, prised out with a chisel bill and a tongue that flicks far beyond the tip and carries a sticky, barbed end. From autumn the bird switches to pine seeds, hazelnuts and beechmast, which it wedges into a favourite crevice - a split in a trunk, a fence post or a purpose-cut hole - and hammers open.

That work site is called an anvil, and a bird will return to the same one for weeks. The litter of stripped cone scales underneath gives it away, and finding an anvil is the most reliable way to know that a woodpecker is working a particular stand of conifers. Nuthatches and tits often steal from an anvil when the owner is away.

Confusion risks

The two big oval white shoulder patches set into black upperparts will separate a Great Spotted Woodpecker from almost every other European woodpecker. The main exception is the much rarer Middle Spotted Woodpecker, which lacks the black stripe running back from the bill through the eye and has more red on the crown.

Sexing is straightforward once the bird is seen well: the male has a crimson patch on the nape, the female's nape is plain black. Juveniles wear a full red crown that fades before their first autumn and are more washed with pink below, which can confuse observers looking for the nape patch.

Where and when to look

Parks, cemeteries, hedgerows and older gardens with mature trees are ideal, and the bird is bold enough to use peanut and suet feeders, where it usually sees off tits and finches. In hard winters, feeder visits become frequent and predictable, often at the same times of day.

February to April is the best window for watching behaviour: listen for the drumming roll, follow the kick call, and look for fresh rectangular excavation in rotten trunks. Any tree with a scatter of stripped cones at its base, or a fresh round nest hole, is worth a second visit - the bird will usually be back.

Fieldcraft and conservation notes

Woodpeckers are protected in most of their range, and disturbing a nest hole in spring can cause a pair to desert. Watch from the ground rather than climbing to a hole, and keep the visit short if chicks are calling from inside.

The species is widespread and its numbers are generally thought to be stable or increasing, helped by garden feeders and by the maturing of trees in towns. Its habit of taking eggs and chicks from the nests of other small birds is natural behaviour rather than a problem, and it is one reason a wood can seem quiet in the weeks after a woodpecker moves in.