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 increase that occurred during the 1970s (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 more open, 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 (PECBMS 2007).

Population changes

Table of population changes for Great Spotted Woodpecker

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit
CBC/BBS UK	39	1967-2006	322	349	233	603
	25	1981-2006	460	119	88	156
	10	1996-2006	904	97	86	109
	5	2001-2006	1036	44	37	52
CBC/BBS England	39	1967-2006	289	332	211	556
	25	1981-2006	412	115	85	157
	10	1996-2006	805	91	81	102
	5	2001-2006	916	38	31	44
BBS UK	11	1995-2006	811	112	100	124
	10	1996-2006	846	98	87	108
	5	2001-2006	1036	43	37	49
BBS England	11	1995-2006	721	105	94	119
	10	1996-2006	752	92	81	104
	5	2001-2006	916	38	31	42
BBS Wales	11	1995-2006	61	98	62	148
	10	1996-2006	63	89	59	132
	5	2001-2006	79	49	36	81

Productivity trends

Table of productivity changes for Great Spotted Woodpecker

Variable	Period (yrs)	Years	Mean annual sample	Trend	Modelled in first year	Modelled in 2006	Change	Comment
Brood size	38	1968-2006	24	None				Small sample
Daily failure rate (chicks)	38	1968-2006	31	Linear decline	0.37% nests/day	0.02% nests/day	-94.6%

>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., 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