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Great Spotted Woodpecker UK
Male, female, and young identifiers
I was first aware there were woodpeckers in our area when I heard a strange metallic, loud tapping noise. It was intermittent but occurred frequently.
Eventually, While in the garden, I spotted the source of the noise on a TV aerial. A woodpecker was calling for a mate on something louder than his usual tree.
Not long after, the woodpecker graced the feeding station in our garden. It’s a great spotted woodpecker, of which there are about 1/4 million in the UK.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers are very striking birds with their black and white plumage with bright red underbelly. They measure about 22cm, similar in size to our blackbirds.
He was successful using his unconventional drum as a few days later a female was also spotted at the feeder.
The male is distinguished from the female by the bright red spot at the nape of the neck, just visible in the top photo.
The young have a red crown, as seen in the photo below. I suspect this one is a male, as there is a second patch starting to form at the back of the head.
