Lesser Spot

Even getting just a glimpse of our smallest and rarest woodpecker is a real thrill, so having the opportunity to watch one at the nest-hole this morning was quite magical. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers go unnoticed for much of the year but for a few weeks each Spring the birds make themselves easier to catch up with by frequently drumming and calling.


Setting up home in a dying Willow at a disused picnic site the pair were taking turns excavating their nest chamber just twelve feet from the ground - though the female (pictured) seemed to be doing the lion's share of the work!

To avoid disturbance this photograph was obtained from quite a distance with the aid of a friend's long lens and has been cropped considerably.