Oh no, it’s a fully-feathered beast of an owl!

Trip to the S of France with @naturetrek.bsky.social is going well!

@somersetbirds.bsky.social

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...

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Having declined massively in numbers and range in Britain over the last few decades, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dryobates minor is a priority...

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker paper now live in the latest British Birds journal.

Read more:

A cut out image of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on a tree features on a green background. Wording alongside reads: New insights unlocked with acoustic monitoring. Image credit bottom right reads: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ©MikeLane45 from Getty Images, via Canva.com.

⚠️ The UK’s smallest and rarest woodpecker, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a shy and elusive bird. It’s rapidly becoming one of our scarcest breeding birds, with substantial declines since the 1980s. 🧵⬇️ #bioacoustics #ornithology

Did you film that today? Lovely.

@somersetbirds.bsky.social

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at its nest in New Forest, photo by Steve Laycock

Six Lesser Spot young in a Quantocks nest, photo Gus Robin

Something to celebrate - our 2025 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker report - successful breeding season, the most nests monitored & highest number of chicks fledged per nest since we started in 2015. Acoustic monitoring giving amazing results too, download here www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/images/L_S_W...

Wow.

Group of eleven Black-throated divers seen from the Applecross Inn, looking towards Skye. Earlier had a pair of WT Eagle overhead - so close the pic was with my phone.

The latest issue of the SOS newsletter - the Bittern - is winging its way to members' inboxes this week.
somersetbirding.org.uk/membership/

1 Pleased to be presenting the latest results gathered by Woodpecker-Network volunteers on Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and what we can do to conserve them better #BOUatEOU www.woodpecker-netwo...

Three Green Woodpecker chicks in a Quantock nest this morning

Four nests have been found so far across Devon and Somerset, including one brood of six). There’s still time to find more this week @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Excellent find Stu and probably the first LSW nest found using a thermal camera. Brilliant effort. Hopefully it will have a good outcome despite the lateness of the predicted fledge date (the chicks look very young).

Here are young GSW calling from their nest site (this was filmed in early June, but some GSW nests are noisy now) @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Here are young LSW calling from a nest site in a birch stump @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

…and thermal cameras do help find and monitor woodpecker nests!
Here’s a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest on a cool morning with older chicks making plenty of heat.
@lesserspotnet.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social
(Hikmicro Falcon FQ35 but SW optics have kindly loaned a Hikmicro Lynx 2.0 too.)

This ground-level Pied Fly nest now has seven eggs and adults seen at the nest @piedflynet.bsky.social @hurlstone.bsky.social

Pied Fly pair have built a nest in this root hole, no eggs yet. Warm on thermal imaging. @piedflynet.bsky.social

Hi Carl, the @lesserspotnet.bsky.social works hard to find and monitor LSW on the Quantocks, would you be willing to share your sighting record details with us?

4 Pied Fly eggs in the earliest of the nests on my Quantock run of boxes. 7/16 boxes have PiedFly so far and have really cracked on this week @piedflynet.bsky.social

My first Cuckoo of the year calling in Aisholt wood, Quantocks today (view is towards Aisholt Common)

Wood chips from an oak on the path - looked up to see a new GSW nest in progress in Hodders Co, Quantock Hills. (There’s an older hole below the new one too.)

A day of two halves in Somerset too - started with woodpeckers, Pied Fly and Ring Ouzels on the Quantocks, then the Whiskered Tern on the way home to start Acoustic Pipeline woodpecker recording analysis. Fingers crossed!

Lots of PiedFly on the Quantocks this morning, maybe five males on a loop walk.

These will both be listening for LSW at historical sites from today. Fingers crossed! Thanks for your work @simongillings.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social
(And thanks to the Quantock Natural Landscapes team for the equipment loan.)

Red Kite over Higher Hare Knap, Quantocks, plus all three woodpeckers on the route in and out of the Combes. 3 GSW, 3 Green, 3 LSW!

Three LSW were heard (one seen) on a Somerset OS Quantock walk today looking for signs and holes of woodpeckers.
Sadly no LSW encounters yesterday on the same route, despite better weather.
Thanks to the brave folk who braved the hills and I hope we find more territories and nest sites this year.