Ken and Linda Smith

A male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in a Kentish wood

Workshop attendees enjoying the sight and sound of a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers

Attendees at the 2026 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker workshop

LSW habitat, Kent

The RBBP were delighted to be part of the fantastic workshop on Lesser Spotted Woodpecker monitoring & research, organised by @lesserspotnet.bsky.social in Kent at the weekend. There’s amazing progress being made by enthusiasts across England and Wales #ornithology #UKbirding

Recent efforts are finding LSW at previously undiscovered sites, with passive acoustic monitoring being a game-changer. Now is the best time to find this elusive species - get tips on how to find them, as well as a new guidance note on acoustic recording, at www.woodpecker-network.org.uk

What a weekend! It was a privilege for Kent to host 2026 @lesserspotnet.bsky.social workshop in the Blean! Interesting discussions had between different regions, good connections made, exciting things ahead. Some Lesser Spots didn’t go a miss either @kentishplover.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social

Read all about when @mallalieum.bsky.social met with Chris Packham to discuss the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and how, with the help of passive recording we may start to understand the true numbers in Sussex woodland.
sos.org.uk/news/spottin...

#UkBirding
#Sussexbirds

Success! Lesser spotted woodpeckers, a male and female pair. The morning after the lesser spotted woodpecker workshop. @ukrbbp.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Very positive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker news from Sussex in this video of a discussion between Chris Packham and Mark Mallalieu

Audio recorder in woodland

Out deploying audio recorders today in the hope of detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Cambs. First singing Chiffchaff plus Comma and lots of Brimstones.

With good weather forecast we put our sound recorder out in this lovely looking wet woodland near Petworth, hoping to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calls and drums. The Sussex LSW survey has got off to a great start with positive results from several locations. No luck for us yet. 🫣

Woodpecker Network display at the conference

Enjoyed Sussex Biological Recorders Seminar last weekend. Lots of interest in @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & @sussexornitholo.bsky.social display about our Lesser Spotted Woodpecker survey in Sussex using passive sound recorders. Plan to survey 100 1xKm squares with wet woodland across the county.

After our talk about Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at @berksbirdclub.bsky.social thrilled to be given this woodcut monoprint on vintage wallpaper by the artist @peterdriver.bsky.social - 'Lesser Spotted now seldom seen' highlighting their decline since the wallpaper was made. Thank you Peter

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers – reasons for optimism! An in person talk by Ken Smith on 18 February for Berkshire Ornithological Club at University of Reading. Details here berksoc.org.uk/events/lesse...

And we’re off! With conditions less than favourable so far, it was good to get out to the Blean. Between 5-6 birds, including drumming and two territorial females ‘chittering’ started the LSW season off nicely #kentbirding @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Wet woodland habitat, good for woodpeckers

Mini sound recorder on birch tree

As part of @sussexornitholo.bsky.social Lesser Spotted Woodpecker survey using passive acoustic monitoring. We put our sound recorder out today hoping for fine weather on Saturday when LSW may be calling & drumming. Nice looking wet woodland habitat in the Weald near Midhurst @btobirds.bsky.social

Congratulations Graeme, our copy arrived today, it is very impressive and is going to be a great read.

Our new guidance note/protocol for using sound recorders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers gives practical details for using Song Meter Mini & Micro recorders from Wildlife Acoustics in woodland with suitable habitat & has proved a great success www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

Ornitholidays advertisement from 1981

Farewell to Birdwatching Legend and Sussex naturalist - Lawrence G. Holloway, who has died aged 94. In 1965 he invented and pioneered 'Ornitholidays' the very first birdwatching holidays. Initially to European destinations, eg Mallorca, the holiday idea expanded worldwide & the rest is history.

First LSW visit for 2026 and two birds seen chasing each other. Here’s a (very poor quality) video of a female. The Blean, Kent, 31st January

It's arrived! Pan-species Listing: How to Become a Super-Naturalist published by @pelagicpublishing. My first book.
I am so pleased with it. It looks amazing, all those photos of incredible British species really make this a very colourful book and a celebration of how fantastic our wildlife is.

Congratulations Graeme, we are looking forward to seeing our copy.

Lesser spot in the Wyre forest weather perfect for these stunning birds also 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿birds started drumming today 😀@lesserspotnet.bsky.social

An @sussexornitholo.bsky.social event on the downs above Shoreham with a talk on changing farm practices, stewardship and sustainable farming initiatives, farm bird recoveries and a walk (with overflying Peregrine, Buzzard, Skylark and Finch flocks). Encouraging.
@btobirds.bsky.social
#ukbirding

An interesting and enjoyable event with lots to see and learn. Thanks everyone @sussexornitholo.bsky.social for organising.
Great to catch up with other SOS members too

A group of five people including BTO staff are smiling and looking at the camera at the Curlew Action Plan Launch.

1/2 Curlew – wonderfully charismatic, desperately threatened and in need of urgent action if they are to remain part of our landscape. That’s why the launch of the UK Curlew Species Action Plan yesterday in the House of Lords is so important. #Ornithology #Curlew

Lovely to see so many @hnhsoc.bsky.social members and guests at a private view for the 'Wildlife for the Record' exhibition at North Hertfordshire Museum this week. I gave a talk marking the end (almost) of the HNHS 150th anniversary year. www.hnhs.org/news/north-h...

Congratulations, we are sorry that we couldn't join you all.

Oh No !!! Hope the rest of your Christmas improves. All the best for 2026.

Thanks to everyone who came along at #BES2025 to chat about my work on phenological synchrony with @kenandlindasmith.bsky.social and @piedflynet.bsky.social

Even for specialist species, mismatch may only matter in years where resources are scarce 🐦🐛

If I missed you at the conference, get in touch!

If you're at the @britishecologicalsociety.org #BES2025 in Edinburgh and interested in #phenology, come and find me for a chat about how resource abundance modulates the impacts of the trophic #mismatch.

My poster is A17.21 in the Cromdale Hall, and I'll be there from 6pm this evening!

🌳 -> 🐛 -> 🐦

Well done Jamie, the poster looks great

Very pleased to announce that my recent paper in Oecologia "Trophic generalism in the winter moth: a model species for phenological mismatch" won the journal's 2024 Ehleringer Prize for student research! 🏆

You can read more about the paper and the award below 👇

link.springer.com/journal/442/...