Take a look at our Great Spotted Woodpecker bird guide. As the most common of the three woodpecker species in the UK, you could be lucky enough to see one in your garden. Did you know, sometimes a woodpecker can be heard drumming into a tree from 400m away? Great Spotted Woodpeckers usually love live food. They enjoy larvae, ants and spiders especially. However, if you have peanuts, suet or sunflower seeds out in the garden, look out for them!
To find out more about other birds, take a look at our interactive bird guide.
About
Great Spotted Woodpeckers can be identified by their black and white plumage and red under tail. Males and females can be identified because males have a red marking on their nape whilst the females do not have this
Locations
Wrens can be spotted in most areas across the UK, with the exception of the highlands, Scotland
Habitat
Woods, suburban woodlands and gardens
Diet
Insects from within deadwood, some seeds, peanuts, suet and other birds eggs
Breeding
Breeding season takes place between April and July. These birds will excavate a hole in a tree to lay their eggs which are white in colour. Each season Great Spotted Woodpeckers will typically lay one brood containing 4-6 eggs. The incubations period is 14-16 days
BTO Facts
According to Garden BirdWatch data, which has been collected since 1995, they are most frequently seen in gardens in June, in around 30% of gardens. Great Spotted Woodpeckers have increased in gardens since Garden BirdWatch began. One of the possible reasons for this increase is lack of completion for nest sites from Starlings, which have declined in recent years.
Food we recommend
Nest boxes we recommend
Great Spotted Woodpeckers do not require a nest box. They place their nests in both live and dead trees, sometimes in the tree trunk and sometimes in larger limbs on the trees.