Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (LSW) are a rare and difficult to find resident bird species on the Quantock Hills. They favour wet broadleaf woodland in the Eastern combes, from Aisholt Woods to Hodders Combe and probably beyond.
In 2023 a concerted effort by members of the Somerset Ornithological Society found a probable nine territories and five nests. In 2024 three nests were found but then only one in the 2025 season, albeit with six chicks – which is the joint largest successful brood in UK history.
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are most commonly found by recognising their characteristic calls and drums which differ from their larger cousins the Great Spotted Woodpecker (GSW). LSW are smaller than GSW, just the size of a sparrow. LSW don’t have red under their tails or a white stripe down either side of their back. The drums of GSW are louder and tail off at the end, whereas LSW sound like a sewing machine with a sudden start and end. There’s an excellent guide to telling them apart, complete with videos of calls and drums here: Woodpecker Network – Home
Technology and Partnerships
Recent technological advances have allowed recording devices to listen for these drums and calls which have shown that these birds may be more widespread than we thought, although still declining.
The Quantock Hills National Landscape team invested in two Song Meter Mini 2 devices which have been deployed in various locations on the Quantock Hills from the 6th of April this year until late April. During this time Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were detected in the majority of sites, despite only recording for three weeks of the 8 week drumming/calling season. The best time for lesser spotted woodpecker calling and drumming is from February to late April, peaking in late March. Early in the morning on clear and still days gives you the best chances of hearing them, although they will often drum on the other side of the tree or branches and can be a real challenge to see.
Once birds have paired and laid eggs (typically 4 to 6 eggs in late April) they become very quiet and difficult to find until late May early June when young may be heard calling from the nest sites (a 3 cm hole, often 10-30 feet up and usually in a dead tree limb or stump). Nest examination using a bespoke camera can count the number of young, useful data that is combined with observation of the nest to see what feeding items are brought in: sometimes caterpillars peak earlier and so aphids or other invertebrates are caught by the parent birds instead.
The Woodpecker Network are working with Quantock Hills National Landscape, the National Trust, the RSPB, the wildlife trusts and Natural England to better assess this rare bird’s declining population and look into the reasons for this.
In 2026, we intend to use the acoustic recorders to assess more Quantock sites from February until late April, hopefully discovering further sites in which these birds may be present.
Sincere thanks go to the QHNL team (Iain Porter, Owen Jones, Andy Stevenson) as well as the National Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust teams too. Thanks also go to the many birders who have helped with the effort to find these fantastic birds.
Thanks to Ewan Flynn for his excellent photographs.
Dr Angus Robin, SW woodpecker network co-ordinator
X/Twitter: @lesserspotnet
Bluesky: @lesserspotnet.bsky.social
