Press Releases - May/Jun 2006 - Item 10

No. 2006/05/30
June 2006

Headbangers wanted

The British Trust for Ornithology, in conjunction with Radio 4’s Shared Earth programme, is launching a new survey to find out more about Great Spotted Woodpeckers and how they use gardens. It’s quick and easy to do, so why not learn a bit more about these fascinating birds by logging on to the BTO website and tell us what you have seen?

For a bird that is possibly best known for smashing its head against hard objects there is still a lot we don’t know! For instance, why has the number of Great Spotted Woodpeckers doubled since 1994, according to the latest Breeding Bird Survey results?

Early summer is the best time of year to see Great Spotted Woodpeckers visiting gardens, as young birds are brought by their parents to feed on the food that we provide. These birds are bold, bright and simple to recognise but what most people don’t know is that the two sexes and also juveniles are really easy to tell apart. By taking a closer look at these colourful garden visitors and reporting your findings to the BTO you can provide valuable information for a new survey run by the BTO, in conjunction with BBC Radio 4’s Shared Earth programme.

“Great Spotted Woodpeckers are really great birds, easy to recognise and increasingly common at garden feeders, but how important is the food we put out for them and what type do they prefer?” says Martin Fowlie of the BTO. “How soon do young birds start to visit on their own after first being brought by their parents and how far away from woodland will they travel in search of a feeding station? These are some of the questions we hope to answer.”

Traditionally birds of broad-leaved woodland, Great Spotted Woodpeckers have made good use of the food provided in gardens but do they still come all the way from woods to feed or is there a move to a more suburban existence? Do you have Great Spotted Woodpeckers visiting your garden? If so the BTO would love to hear from you. By reporting your sightings through the survey, you can help the BTO build up a detailed picture about what’s going on and how these woodpeckers are using gardens?

“It’s quick and easy to take part and the information that you provide will help us understand more about one the UK’s most enigmatic birds. So why not visit www.bto.org and tell us what you have been seeing,” Martin adds.

To take part in the BTO’s Great Spotted Woodpecker Survey and to find out lots more about this beautiful species and how to tell the different sexes apart visit the BTO’s website at www.bto.org

Notes for Editors

1) The British Trust for Ornithology is the UK’s leading bird research organisation. Over thirty thousand birdwatchers contribute to the BTO’s surveys. They collect information that forms the basis of conservation action in the UK. The BTO maintains a staff of 100 at its offices in Norfolk and Stirling, who analyse and publicise the results of project work.

2) ‘Shared Earth’ is an exciting new radio magazine series presented by Dylan Winter and produced by the BBC Natural History Unit for BBC Radio 4. It replaces ‘Changing Places’ but covers the same important issues and interface where people and wildlife and the environment meet. With four to five features in each weekly programme, ‘Shared Earth’ will become more topical and celebrate the natural world as well as report on wildlife news and issues in Britain and Europe. It will also explore environmental initiatives and investigate what we can all do to play our part in helping conserve wildlife and habitats and reduce our footprint on the planet. The series will be broadcast from Friday June 30 at 3pm for five weeks with a further series in the late autumn and another in Spring 2007. For more information on the programme go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/sharedearth

3) Great Spotted Woodpecker facts. They lay 3-6 eggs which are incubated for two weeks by the female. Once hatched chicks take a further three weeks to fledge. Individuals first breed when they are one year old and the oldest Great Spotted Woodpecker recorded lived to the ripe old age of 10 years and nine months. To find out more about woodpeckers drumming and their biology go to http://www.bto.org/gbw/GRSWO

4) Colour photographs. Images of Great Spotted Woodpeckers are freely available for use in association with this press release. Please contact to request an electronic version.

5) The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:
Martin Fowlie, Mike Toms and Graham Appleton by email

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