BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Green Woodpecker

GREEN WOODPECKER
Picus viridis

• 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 England, but not Wales, where some contraction of range has recently been detected. 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 shown widespread moderate increase across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS 2010).

1967-2008: 217% (confidence interval 147% to 369%)

Population changes in detail

Demographic trends

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Renwick, A.R., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G., Barimore, C., Conway, G.J., Downie, I.S., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2010). Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2010. BTO Research Report No. 565. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 09.09.2010