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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 (PECBMS 2007).
 

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 39 1967-2006 252 205 133 327    
  25 1981-2006 360 95 61 133    
  10 1996-2006 710 46 37 54    
  5 2001-2006 761 6 1 11    
BBS UK 11 1995-2006 688 43 31 55    
  10 1996-2006 716 37 28 46    
  5 2001-2006 820 8 3 13    
BBS England 11 1995-2006 636 51 42 62    
  10 1996-2006 663 43 35 51    
  5 2001-2006 761 7 3 11    
BBS Wales 11 1995-2006 45 4 -18 30    
  10 1996-2006 47 2 -19 23    
  5 2001-2006 51 11 -5 32    

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., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G.,
Barimore, C., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2009).
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2008.
BTO Research Report No. 516. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 18.02.2009