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BTO Blueline
GREEN WOODPECKER
Picus viridis
Green Woodpecker © Colin Varndell
 

• Population
  changes

• Productivity
  trends

• Additional
  information
Conservation listings
Europe: SPEC category 2 (depleted)
UK: amber (European status)
Long-term trend
England: rapid increase
UK population size
24,200 pairs in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC trend: BiE04, APEP06)
Status summary
Green Woodpecker populations have risen steadily in Britain since 1966, except for a period of stability or shallow decline centred around 1980 that was probably the result of a series of harsh winters. There was considerable range expansion in central and eastern Scotland between the 1968–72 and 1988–91 atlas periods. Recent results indicate that the current phase of increase is continuing across most of the UK range. The ecological factors underlying the increase are not yet known but, given the species' susceptibility to cold weather, it may be related to climate change. Numbers have risen widely in Europe since 1980 (PECBM 2006).
 

Population changes
CBC/BBS England graph
 
Table of population changes for Green Woodpecker

Source Period
(yrs)		 Years Plots
(n)		 Change
(%)		 Lower
limit		 Upper
limit		 Alert Comment
CBC/BBS England 38 1967-2005 232 211 137 355    
  25 1980-2005 324 96 67 140    
  10 1995-2005 656 56 46 67    
  5 2000-2005 710 11 6 17    
BBS UK 10 1995-2005 650 44 33 54    
  5 2000-2005 750 12 7 18    
BBS England 10 1995-2005 600 54 43 65    
  5 2000-2005 694 13 7 18    
BBS Wales 10 1995-2005 44 -3 -24 19    
  5 2000-2005 50 4 -14 30    

BBS acknowledgement
 
BBS UK graph
BBS England graph
BBS Wales graph
 

Productivity trends
Productivity information is not currently available for this species
 

Additional information
BTO blue divider
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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