There are three species of woodpecker native to the UK. Two of them, the green woodpecker and the greater spotted woodpecker, nest in our reserve. Here is a short video to help you tell them apart.
Header image: greater spotted woodpecker photographed in the reserve by Simon Knight.
One of the reserve’s greater spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) photographed by Cheryl Cronnie.
The park’s twelve drummers drumming are great spotted woodpeckers. They begin drumming at the end of winter as part of a courtship ritual in which the male marks out his territory and advertises his presence. He drums his beak against hollow wood 10 to 20 times in just 2 seconds, and the females replies briefly as she enters his territory.
Here is a video:
Video recorded in March 2019 by George Ewart
We have both greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers on our species lists but it is many years since the single sighting of a lesser spotted woodpecker in the park. Here is a video from the BTO to help you tell the difference between the two.
Header picture: greater spotted woodpecker in the reserve photographed by DKG
by Simon Knight
For me, the past few days in the park have been very special. Not only has it brought me joy through wonderful wildlife sightings, I have also seen how happy the park makes other people, which proves on so many levels that the park is hugely important and worth every effort spent protecting it.
Continue reading “The sun is finally here!”
Ian reports that the bee swarm from the old ash tree at Fiveways seems to have settled into a hole in the tree we call the Owl Box Oak; a second honey bee colony in the reserve is very exciting news.
Read on for even more exciting news
by Simon Knight
The park is really coming to life now, with the grasses growing, trees in leaf and the fields dotted with yellow as buttercups start to bloom. My visits haven’t been as frequent as I would have liked, which makes me value the time I have spent in the park even more.
Continue reading
Here are five facts about the pair of greater spotted woodpeckers that has been seen hanging around the Lone Oak this week
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The park’s twelve drummers drumming are great spotted woodpeckers. They begin drumming at the end of winter as part of a courtship ritual in which the male marks out his territory and advertises his presence by drumming his beak against hollow wood 10 to 20 times in just 2 seconds, and the females replies briefly as she enters his territory.
Here is a video:
Video recorded in March 2019 by George Ewart
We have both greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers on our species lists but it is many years since the single sighting of a lesser spotted woodpecker in the park. Here is a video from the BTO to help you tell the difference between the two.
Great spotted and green. . .
read on for more about the park’s woodpeckers
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 