BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Great Spotted Woodpecker

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER
Dendrocopos major

• Population
changes

• Productivity
trends

• Additional
information

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: green

Long-term trend

UK, England: rapid increase

UK population size

37,000–44,400 pairs in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)

Status summary

This species increased rapidly in the 1970s and began a further increase in the early 1990s. Dutch Elm Disease, which greatly increased the amount of standing dead timber and its associated insects, has been linked to the 1970s increase (Marchant et al. 1990). The ecological factors underlying the current increase are not yet known, but the species may be benefiting from the maturation of new forests and from the increasing provision of winter food in gardens. The decline in Starling numbers in recent decades has led to increased breeding success of this woodpecker and may have allowed it to expand its breeding distribution into less wooded habitats (Smith 2005, 2006). Nesting phenology in Hertfordshire woodlands has advanced over the last two decades in response to warmer spring weather (Smith 2006). Numbers have risen widely in Europe since 1980 (PECBM 2006).

Population changes

Table of population changes for Great Spotted Woodpecker

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit
CBC/BBS UK	38	1967-2005	293	317	204	582
	25	1980-2005	409	98	73	136
	10	1995-2005	821	92	81	103
	5	2000-2005	924	44	37	51
CBC/BBS England	38	1967-2005	263	306	197	535
	25	1980-2005	366	96	65	129
	10	1995-2005	732	89	78	100
	5	2000-2005	816	40	33	46
BBS UK	10	1995-2005	751	97	85	106
	5	2000-2005	905	43	37	49
BBS England	10	1995-2005	666	93	81	104
	5	2000-2005	799	39	33	45
BBS Wales	10	1995-2005	58	67	38	122
	5	2000-2005	73	35	17	55

Productivity trends

Table of productivity changes for Great Spotted Woodpecker

Variable	Period (yrs)	Years	Mean annual sample	Trend	Modelled in first year	Modelled in 2005	Change	Comment
Brood size	37	1968-2005	22	None				Small sample
Daily failure rate (chicks)	37	1968-2005	29	Linear decline	0.35% nests/day	0.03% nests/day	-91.4%	Small sample

>Insufficient data on clutch size
available for this species

Insufficient data on egg nest failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on laying date
available for this species

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Barimore, C., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. & Thewlis, R.M. (2007) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2007. BTO Research Report No. 487. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 3 January, 2008