The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest and least common of the UK's three species of woodpecker. It is most often found in the tops of trees where it creeps along branches in search of insects. Its 'drumming' is much quieter and less vigorous than that of the great spotted woodpecker; its presence is often only given away by this or their call. The lesser spotted woodpecker is small in size, being not much bigger than a house sparrow. Males are black and white, with a red crown cap, and females are plain black and white. They both have a distinctive white ladder marking down their black back. Their territorial drumming call is slower and more evenly paced than that of the great spotted woodpecker.
Classified in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021).
Location: Blean, Kent
Photographer: Dave Saunders