Only 2 species of black and white woodpecker occur in the UK – the Great Spotted and the Lesser Spotted. The Middle Spotted has never made it over from France.
Strolling down English countryside laneways in spring brings forth a veritable burst of new life: trees are blossoming, birds are scoping out real estate for their nesting sites and, yes, lambs are literally frolicking in the fields. But my great discovery of the last few days has been the Great Spotted Woodpecker. Listen to this and tell me it doesn’t blow you away!
At first I thought someone was jackhammering, which in itself is an interesting concept when you are walking through fields. But, hey, there was a farm house nearby so anything is possible. But when I realised the bursts of drilling were very precisely timed I alighted upon the idea that it might be a woodpecker. And after scouring the tree tops for a few minutes (which is easy to do because they still have no leaves) I found it! The Great Spotted Woodpecker!
Not really sure why it’s so great. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I love a good bird. It’s considered medium-sized but to my eye it was actually quite small. But for a small bird it makes a helluva noise. They drill into trees to find food or excavate nest holes. They also drum to make contact with other birds or to mark territory.
Interesting facts about the Great Spotted Woodpecker: it has been recorded as cross-breeding with the Syrian woodpecker (which is a long way to go for a tinder date); a fossil subspecies which lived almost 300,000 years ago has been found in an ice sheet; adults do a complete moult every year after breeding season; its drumming is around 10-16 strikes per second; they became extinct on the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century due to deforestation (but they recolonised from 2007); to stop their little brains bobbing about while they are hammering, they have adapted a special hinge and muscle arrangement where the skull connects to the mandible as well as a reinforced skull; there are so many of these guys it is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN.
Given that I’ve started hearing a lot of them, I’m guessing that their real estate search is over and soon we will be blessed with the sound of mini jackhammers.
