Coppicing time

Woodpeckers !
      We get all three British woodpeckers in Crow Wood - Great Spotted, Lesser Spotted and Green - of the three species, Great Spotted is the most common and has bred in the wood itself. Lesser Spotted is a rarity. I see or hear one calling several times a year, mainly in March, but it is a very secretive bird, and outside of the breeding season it spends most of its time high up in the canopy and is hard to see. 
      By contrast Great Spotted are noisy birds and really quite showy; nationally its a species that is doing well and some think it may be partially responsible for the decline in the Lesser Spotteds by outcompeting them and perhaps taking nestlings. Great Spots are not averse to snacking on young birds and make short shrift of wooden nest boxes to get at the contents if they can hear young birds inside, which is why I now install nest boxes made of the tougher woodcrete material, made of a mix of wood and resin. They still have a go at them and most of the boxes show evidence of attempts to chip them open but they do find it a real challenge. They are one of our most stunning, commoner birds and I do enjoy seeing them; their markings are very distinctive and there is a real dash about their red, white and black markings. The male bird has a red nape which the female lacks and this adds a certain panache. They are often hard to see well as they forage along higher branches and for quite a large bird, they are surprisingly nervous about feeding closer to the ground but yesterday a male came down to the feeder and stayed long enough for me to enjoy really good views...... a real treat.

A real poser !