Recent efforts are finding LSW at previously undiscovered sites, with passive acoustic monitoring being a game-changer. Now is the best time to find this elusive species - get tips on how to find them, as well as a new guidance note on acoustic recording, at www.woodpecker-network.org.uk

The RBBP were delighted to be part of the fantastic workshop on Lesser Spotted Woodpecker monitoring & research, organised by @lesserspotnet.bsky.social in Kent at the weekend. There’s amazing progress being made by enthusiasts across England and Wales #ornithology #UKbirding

March and April are the best time to look & listen for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers calling and drumming in wet, broadleaf woodland. Find out more about Woodpecker Network, listen to Ken Smith's zoom talk for Essex Birdwatching Society from January. ebws.org.uk/talks/jan26

Following the December 2025 paper on detecting& monitoring Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, we’re inviting your questions. We’ll put them to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Network next weekend when they meet,&publish their answers soon The paper: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti... Add your questions below

With good weather forecast we put our sound recorder out in this lovely looking wet woodland near Petworth, hoping to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calls and drums. The Sussex LSW survey has got off to a great start with positive results from several locations. No luck for us yet. 🫣

The Woodpecker Network is encouraging birders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers by using passive acoustic sound recorders:

A possible grey squirrel doesn’t like my bioacoustics for LSW I assume

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers – reasons for optimism! An in person talk by Ken Smith on 18 February for Berkshire Ornithological Club at University of Reading at 7:30. Also on Zoom - Details here berksoc.org.uk/events/lesse...

Our new guidance note/protocol for using sound recorders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers gives practical details for using Song Meter Mini & Micro recorders from Wildlife Acoustics in woodland with suitable habitat & has proved a great success www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

Splendid news and a wake up call for the rest of us to visit the woods

Lesser spot in the Wyre forest weather perfect for these stunning birds also 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿birds started drumming today 😀@lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Here we go lesser spotted woodpecker wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🤞

Glamorgan Birders...there are loads of vacant survey squares for the BTO Breeding Bird Survey in Neath/Port Talbot. Can you spare a few hours to improve our knowledge of our breeding birds? I can't promise a Scops Owl, but who knows what you might find? #birdingWales www.bto.org/get-involved...

@slimbridge-wild.bsky.social Wish the person who has this account would update it as the old Twitter account was with daily sightings.

Six roles with @rspbcymru.bsky.social to survey breeding waders in #Wales in March/April, with a particular focus on #Curlews. Closing date is 25 January. #ConservationJobs app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

Yes, a definite glimmer of hope. If the positive results in Sussex and Hampshire are indicative of woodlands in other parts of the country, including the Sheffield area, numbers of Lesser Spots could be higher than we all thought.

Happy Christmas to one and all

⚠️ The UK’s smallest and rarest woodpecker, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a shy and elusive bird. It’s rapidly becoming one of our scarcest breeding birds, with substantial declines since the 1980s. 🧵⬇️ #bioacoustics #ornithology

Another lovely hidden valley 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker paper now live in the latest British Birds journal. Read more:

Final proofs of @birdsinwales.bsky.social Welsh Bird Report 2024 uploaded to the printer in Treorchy. Many thanks to Ian Spence for his design work and Alun Lambert for the cover photo. Christmas holidays mean that it won't arrive with members until next month, but hopefully worth waiting for...

Our paper in December's @britishbirds.bsky.social describes success in using sound recording for detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. We found Lesser Spots still present in woodlands where they have not been seen/heard for years. This is very exciting www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

Great to see three of our Sussex birders involved in co-authoring the LSW paper in the Dec copy of British Birds. PAM will be an important tool in the next National Bird Atlas. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social @mallalieum.bsky.social @kenandlindasmith.bsky.social

Thanks for choosing British Birds for this fascinating paper – important and fascinating work by the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Network and BTO. 👏

1/ A new study from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & BTO in @britishbirds.bsky.social looks at how passive acoustic monitoring is an effective way of surveying Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ➡️ www.bto.org/LSWBioacoust... #bioacoustics #ornithology @simongillings.bsky.social @hosbirding.bsky.social

No Hawfinch as yet but nice to see the other regulars in Parkend.

Brilliant! Thanks for including one of my favourite ever pictures. Lots of fun this year with @stuckateur.bsky.social and @angusrobin.bsky.social Already looking forward to the spring

Wonderful morning at the Wyre forest rewarded with 20 min of a pair of lesser spotted woodpecker crisp morning perfect @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Something to celebrate - our 2025 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker report - successful breeding season, the most nests monitored & highest number of chicks fledged per nest since we started in 2015. Acoustic monitoring giving amazing results too, download here www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/images/L_S_W...

Another gem found today in south wales for a potential LSW site

Nice to see so many marsh tits locally while assessing potential LSW sites

Currently a whopping 30% discount on the hardback and flexiback from the publisher (link in post below), just in time for Christmas presents! The Marsh Tit and the Willow Tit, a Poyser #ornithology monograph. #ukbirding

This is a brilliant initiative. Woodpecker Network is working with BTO to develop a passive acoustic monitoring module for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Trials have proved successful in reliably detecting their drums and calls, revealing many new locations. We are taking this forward in spring 2026

This is a brilliant initiative. Woodpecker Network is working with BTO to develop a passive acoustic monitoring module for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Trials have proved successful in reliably detecting their drums and calls, revealing many new locations.

Wonderful new forest for 5 days massive thanks to @kenandlindasmith.bsky.social for a wonderful tour of the forest hotspots a wealth of knowledge they shared to us

@richardkbroughton.bsky.social fantastic work on this book !👏I spend so much time in woods after LSW and I have these wonderful birds around me a great insight and another bird i will locally monitor

3 very different habitats favoured by lesser spotted woodpecker! Wet alder woodlands, mature orchards, ancient woodland, all showing promise

Another page from THE PIED WOODPECKERS. Due out in February. Hope you are enjoying these teasers!

Nice find on the Welsh borders LSW possibly this year too in a ash snag

Woke to a wild and wet morning on the Ceredigion coast, but that's fine as today is indoors at the annual @birdsinwales.bsky.social Conference @aberuni.bsky.social. Look forward to catching up and meeting new people.

A nice present from Mrs K for our anniversary!!

Local celeb wryneck !!

Africa what a place magical and moving over 300 species of birds and animals 4 different species of woodpecker with the cardinal woodpecker my favourite!!

Bearded woodpecker South Africa!

Kruger park what a place

Vismig Lesser-spotted Woodpecker at Falsterbo this morning 🪵

Nice to get a bit of TV time on one of our projects

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers like lots of woodland, but not woodland management and forestry. Interesting implications for the remaining populations in Britain: expanding unmanaged (or lightly managed) natural native woodland seems helpful. #ukbirding #ornithology

In the week the @eounion.bsky.social met @bangoruniversity.bsky.social, latest findings from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social provide hope for this hard-to-find bird. @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes also rounds up the week's scarcer sightings. #BirdingWales www.birdnotes.wales/blog/experts...

Nice walk in the Wyre forest good to hear LSW calling the second time in a week at this location