I see Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers every weekend in my local North Kent wood. Imagine my surprise when, in November 2024, I was again walking in my local wood and saw a small bird high up in a tree, I look through my binoculars and couldn't believe my eyes, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!! I cursed my luck not having a camera on me to prove it was real...over a month later, still keep an eye on the trees, I was watching Redwing feeding on Ivy berrys and a GSW flew through my field of view. I was taking some photos and something else flew through my field of view just below the GSW was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, I couldn't believe my luck best day ever! I know the feeling of seeing these rare birds so I feel your excitement too. Great video.
i see lesser spotted woodpeckers almost every year in my backyard in Poland this video make me even more appreciate meeting with the smallest woodpecker across the Europe
It’s actually the “Great” not the “greater” spotted woodpecker by the way. Also, what about the wryneck? That is in the same class isn’t it? I love Brandon Marsh, I’m a member of Warwickshire wildlife trust and live in rugby.
I live in south wales and in a very rural area just outside margum park, we have this beautiful bird come to our garden to feed on the bird feeder. I didn't realise how rear they are until this video so i feel very honoured to have something like this visiting the garden. Great video as always thank you 😊
My dads a complete bird nut. He was into hunting too. Back in the 80’s my dad and his buddy were out hunting and my dad saw a little lesser spotted woodpecker. He pointed it out to his buddy who wasnt much of a bird guy asked my dad if he should shoot it. I think my dad was on the verge of shooting him 😂
@@didzisdidzisss5176 Yeah me too. He is a great person and is and always has been an absolutely fantastic dad. Absolutely nature crazy but especially birds which he instilled into us although we aren’t as bird crazy as him. He’s in his mid seventies now and even now he will go out in to the country side- “his patch” he calls it, and he’ll walk for hours with his bins and scope and camera clicking at everything that moves until he finds somewhere to set up his hide and then he will sit for hours in the hide taking pictures of the local wildlife. And when the weathers too bad to go out on his patch he’ll set his hide up in the garden and sit for hours taking pics of the birds coming in to all the feeders he has set up. He even goes on bird watching holidays in his caravan and my poor mums dragged along.😂 she’s used to it now after 50+ years of marriage 😂
Never seen a woodpecker. Heard one once. The other day I saw two very interesting birds, never seen them before. They were grey partridges. It's amazing what wildlife we have
Where I live in uk Surrey There’s this bird I’ve near seen one before it’s white with a long neck and with yellow feet always hunting in the waters would you know what it would be ?
As a milkman, l was on my round years ago. Deep in the forest of a very affluent group of houses. Watching a pair of Nuthatches in a nest box, a bunch of LS Woodpeckers walked by on the branches, Made my day.
During covid I used to go on a walk past a inner city wild wooded area. I am not a bird spotter but suddenly there were up to eight lesser spotted woodpeckers. When I arrived home I did a search and remembering the markings which were very distinct and discovered they were lesser spotted woodpeckers. I can only assume they were fledglings that were leaving the nest. During covid there seemed to be more bird activity even near previously busy roads. This made my day. I have since moved but always remember that remarkable sight. How can you feel down when surrounded by God’s creation. The sighting was at the wooded copse in the cemetery on Lightbowne Road, Manchester M40. I had no idea they were rare and did not report the sighting.
Great content as always! The lesser spotted woodpecker reminds me of the downy woodpeckers over here in the US, except instead of being the rarest woodpecker they're the most common lol.
Had one of the lesser spotted woodpeckers on my bird feeder last week, eating suet balls. Had no idea what it was and used google to work it out. Live in the countryside and often see green ones. Get too many Magpies, Pigeons, Crows (Jackdaws too) and they’re a nuisance as they decimate the food and scare off the smaller birds. Love all the Finches - anything colourful. We also get many Yellowhammers here and until I started the feeder had never seen or heard of them! The bravest birds seem to be the Blue Tits and Great Tits who often let me get close without flying off.
Thanks for the video. Ive never seen a LSW but will keep trying and will post a vid on my own channel if i manage. I like how youre not so serious and keep things lively!
Stroking one yesterday hit our window in upton upon severn got some lovley close up pics of it was beautifull to see kept it warm and put it under hedge next morning it flew off needed some rest after hitting the window.
Mega f*cking jealous… this is something I really want to see. I’ve tried a couple of times, however they are really sulky and don’t seem to have regular ranges until breeding comes around. Btw I want to recommend a few potential animal anomalies- 1. Black redstart, have around 50- individuals in the UK. 2. Black winged stilts, a couple breed every years in the UK- only around 10-15 come to the UK every year. 3. Bee eaters, they bred for the second time in quarry in Norfolk last year. 4. Ruddy shelduck, ruddy duck, red crested pochard- all introduced birds that have been becoming more common. 5. Stone curlews, spotted quake, corn crake- all rare breeding birds in the UK- sadly they have all seemed to suffer a decline due to loss of habitat. 6. Red legged falcons- one of the most magnificent falcons, around 30 can be seen in the UK every year. 7. This ones more for winter- red necked, black necked and Slavonian grebes are all wintering grebes here in the UK- they are all extremely rare in the UK however they do end up in reservoirs and at certain times can be seen there for several months at a time. 8. Goshawk, honey buzzards- both extremely rare birds of prey that breed in small numbers in the UK. 9. Turtle doves and nightingales both rare breeding birds that have had their number decrease drastically. 10. Collared doves, Cetti’s warblers, little egrets, cattle egrets, great egrets, Med gulls, spoonbills- all birds that weren’t breeding in the UK until relatively recently.
Do you have links to the pics/video? Getting a lswp in your garden is incredibly unlikely due to only about 50 individuals left in the uk, plus they’re very habitat specific
Where I grew up on the north Downs in Kent . My local woods was a breeding area. At least a few pairs. That was late 80s are there any in Hartley Woods now?
Hi cookie where I live near vassal Park / Snuff Mills Fishponds is a great place for Green woodpecker and greater spotted woodpecker. the lesser Spotted Woodpecker down in Colyton East Devon. You name it east Devon got them all. Walk along the river collie East Devon you won't be disappointed.
I have seen three species of spotted woodpecker and black woodpecker. And last year ive seen the green woodpecker so I've finally seen all woodpeckers of my country.
The weirdest thing ever... The only place that I have consistently seen a LSW is in a different Brandon. In Norfolk! They nest there every year, it's just a short walk from Brandon village and it's called Santon Downham. You should check it out some time, they also have Goshawks, Stone curlews, Nightjars and TurtleDoves. Just a short drive away they have crossbills.
Hey. I have two species of woodpecker, feeding from my home window. Gray, and redhed and i think it is uk. Rare redhead woodpecker. I have UA-cam channel where can see this. 🤩 I am from Latvia.
@@TheJacksnipe Thanks awfully for correcting me. Shame on me. I often saw them in winter, they must nest nearby as I hear and see them all year round, trying to feed on pork fat, I hang it on the fir tree for tits, and then fly down on the ground and forage for something. I mistakenly guessed they looked for earthworms.
Wait you dont have Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and Black Woodpeckers in Britain? I never realized that, kinda more thankful for them now. I only saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker one time, near my friends home, it was a female with a black head, so I still gotta find a male. Greater Spotted is a regular visitor in our garden, Black Woodpeckers are quite abundant in my home area, but hard to photograph, Green Woodpeckers are all over the Parks in Frankfurt and I also saw Middle Spotted Woodpeckers two times already, but that Lesser Spotted Woodpecker male is on my list for this year. The Grey-headed Woodpecker eluded me completly, but maybe I get Lucky this year. Near the Alps we also got White-backed and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers, but I never went there. Nice that you found it, awesome video man, you kinda inspired me to start looking for animals and film them here, the videos are in german tho, but we already got mouflons and next are European Bison, which are pretty hard, because theres only one herd living free in Germany and trying to locate them is nearly impossible 😅but we keep trying until we found them
Because we are an island and woodpeckers dont like to cross the sea, and then the island of Ireland only has Great Spotted and no other breeding woodpeckers at all! Another example, Greece has 10 breeding woodpecker species but the island of Lesvos, so close to the Turkish coast, only has 1 species, Middle Spotted, the others haven't colonised it.
I think your population estimate of 1000 is a little pessimistic; I've read some statements by experts recently that argue that lesser spots are under recorded in the UK due to being very hard to find, as well as the fact that much of their suitable habitat (such as the woodlands in Herefordshire where I am from) is very under watched. Perhaps this can be a basis for some naive optimism, but also a good reason for us to go looking for them! There is an excellent UK wide group called the Lesser Spot Network which helps co ordinate surveys for the species.
I’ve seen the greater spotted woodpecker in my garden and saw a green wood pecker in the grounds of the school I work in and a colleague from work had a lesser spotted wood pecker in her house x
I would bet it was a greater spotted in the house, rather than a lesser spotted. Luckily I’ve seen a couple of lesser spotted but by chance. Had a surprise earlier this year when I saw a greater spotted checking out the holes in an air brick on the wall opposite my flats kitchen window, it’s feet having no problem holding onto the brickwork.
Omg! Ur vid jist came up so i thought if the green woodpecker would be on the list.....Its so rare & i saw 1 b4 i knew 1❤❤& most brightest ❤❤& largest ❤❤Feeling blessed 🎉Thanks
I often hear woodpeckers pecking and then think of the Predator film as I'm surrounded by trees and it sounds similar. How do they not get brain damage?
I see Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers every weekend in my local North Kent wood. Imagine my surprise when, in November 2024, I was again walking in my local wood and saw a small bird high up in a tree, I look through my binoculars and couldn't believe my eyes, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!! I cursed my luck not having a camera on me to prove it was real...over a month later, still keep an eye on the trees, I was watching Redwing feeding on Ivy berrys and a GSW flew through my field of view. I was taking some photos and something else flew through my field of view just below the GSW was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, I couldn't believe my luck best day ever! I know the feeling of seeing these rare birds so I feel your excitement too. Great video.
i see lesser spotted woodpeckers almost every year in my backyard in Poland
this video make me even more appreciate meeting with the smallest woodpecker across the Europe
I am see too every year. They are feeding from my home window.
It’s actually the “Great” not the “greater” spotted woodpecker by the way. Also, what about the wryneck? That is in the same class isn’t it?
I love Brandon Marsh, I’m a member of Warwickshire wildlife trust and live in rugby.
I live in south wales and in a very rural area just outside margum park, we have this beautiful bird come to our garden to feed on the bird feeder. I didn't realise how rear they are until this video so i feel very honoured to have something like this visiting the garden. Great video as always thank you 😊
tree creepers absolutely trolling.
brilliant video man!
My dads a complete bird nut. He was into hunting too. Back in the 80’s my dad and his buddy were out hunting and my dad saw a little lesser spotted woodpecker. He pointed it out to his buddy who wasnt much of a bird guy asked my dad if he should shoot it. I think my dad was on the verge of shooting him 😂
😂😂😂
I'm sure there are some of these in Middleton Park Woods in Leeds
😁 I understand you're dad. 😉
@@didzisdidzisss5176
Yeah me too. He is a great person and is and always has been an absolutely fantastic dad. Absolutely nature crazy but especially birds which he instilled into us although we aren’t as bird crazy as him. He’s in his mid seventies now and even now he will go out in to the country side- “his patch” he calls it, and he’ll walk for hours with his bins and scope and camera clicking at everything that moves until he finds somewhere to set up his hide and then he will sit for hours in the hide taking pictures of the local wildlife. And when the weathers too bad to go out on his patch he’ll set his hide up in the garden and sit for hours taking pics of the birds coming in to all the feeders he has set up. He even goes on bird watching holidays in his caravan and my poor mums dragged along.😂 she’s used to it now after 50+ years of marriage 😂
Never seen a woodpecker. Heard one once. The other day I saw two very interesting birds, never seen them before. They were grey partridges. It's amazing what wildlife we have
Where I live in uk Surrey
There’s this bird I’ve near seen one before it’s white with a long neck and with yellow feet always hunting in the waters would you know what it would be ?
Sounds like a little egret.( If it's the size of a heron though, it'll be a great white egret. )
As a milkman, l was on my round years ago. Deep in the forest of a very affluent group of houses. Watching a pair of Nuthatches in a nest box, a bunch of LS Woodpeckers walked by on the branches,
Made my day.
Loved this, Brandon Marsh is a great place, that tiny woodpecker is one to add to my list 😊
During covid I used to go on a walk past a inner city wild wooded area. I am not a bird spotter but suddenly there were up to eight lesser spotted woodpeckers. When I arrived home I did a search and remembering the markings which were very distinct and discovered they were lesser spotted woodpeckers. I can only assume they were fledglings that were leaving the nest. During covid there seemed to be more bird activity even near previously busy roads. This made my day. I have since moved but always remember that remarkable sight. How can you feel down when surrounded by God’s creation.
The sighting was at the wooded copse in the cemetery on Lightbowne Road, Manchester M40.
I had no idea they were rare and did not report the sighting.
Your enthusiasm is contagious! So happy that you took us birding with you!
Great content as always! The lesser spotted woodpecker reminds me of the downy woodpeckers over here in the US, except instead of being the rarest woodpecker they're the most common lol.
So similar right?!
@@WildlifeWithCookie I guess they call my region of the country "New England" for more reasons than just "They share a bunch of town names"
I've seen all three of our Woodpeckers and Jays too in my garden in Sussex.
In my experience, people get juvenile GSW mixed up with LSW, a lot!
Had one of the lesser spotted woodpeckers on my bird feeder last week, eating suet balls. Had no idea what it was and used google to work it out. Live in the countryside and often see green ones. Get too many Magpies, Pigeons, Crows (Jackdaws too) and they’re a nuisance as they decimate the food and scare off the smaller birds. Love all the Finches - anything colourful. We also get many Yellowhammers here and until I started the feeder had never seen or heard of them! The bravest birds seem to be the Blue Tits and Great Tits who often let me get close without flying off.
Thanks for the video. Ive never seen a LSW but will keep trying and will post a vid on my own channel if i manage. I like how youre not so serious and keep things lively!
Nice video! Spotted one just last week at the Risley Moss.
a lesser spotted woodpecker lives in the tree behind my house (hampshire UK).. it makes a very distinct noise and is very friendly.
Stroking one yesterday hit our window in upton upon severn got some lovley close up pics of it was beautifull to see kept it warm and put it under hedge next morning it flew off needed some rest after hitting the window.
It was a
a lesser spotted woodpecker
Mega f*cking jealous… this is something I really want to see. I’ve tried a couple of times, however they are really sulky and don’t seem to have regular ranges until breeding comes around. Btw I want to recommend a few potential animal anomalies-
1. Black redstart, have around 50- individuals in the UK.
2. Black winged stilts, a couple breed every years in the UK- only around 10-15 come to the UK every year.
3. Bee eaters, they bred for the second time in quarry in Norfolk last year.
4. Ruddy shelduck, ruddy duck, red crested pochard- all introduced birds that have been becoming more common.
5. Stone curlews, spotted quake, corn crake- all rare breeding birds in the UK- sadly they have all seemed to suffer a decline due to loss of habitat.
6. Red legged falcons- one of the most magnificent falcons, around 30 can be seen in the UK every year.
7. This ones more for winter- red necked, black necked and Slavonian grebes are all wintering grebes here in the UK- they are all extremely rare in the UK however they do end up in reservoirs and at certain times can be seen there for several months at a time.
8. Goshawk, honey buzzards- both extremely rare birds of prey that breed in small numbers in the UK.
9. Turtle doves and nightingales both rare breeding birds that have had their number decrease drastically.
10. Collared doves, Cetti’s warblers, little egrets, cattle egrets, great egrets, Med gulls, spoonbills- all birds that weren’t breeding in the UK until relatively recently.
Anomalies?
Last week i spotted a lesser spotted woodpecker on my tree in my garden, got great pics and videos of it too, what a spectacular bird!
Do you have links to the pics/video?
Getting a lswp in your garden is incredibly unlikely due to only about 50 individuals left in the uk, plus they’re very habitat specific
Where I grew up on the north Downs in Kent . My local woods was a breeding area. At least a few pairs. That was late 80s are there any in Hartley Woods now?
I experience this emotion and frustration every time I plan a trip to see LSW's. I have been searching for 20 years and I have seen just one!! 😢
I’m in Hampshire and I have a lesser spotted woodpecker that is visiting my feeder daily 😍
Hi cookie where I live near vassal Park / Snuff Mills Fishponds is a great place for Green woodpecker and greater spotted woodpecker. the lesser Spotted Woodpecker down in Colyton East Devon. You name it east Devon got them all. Walk along the river collie East Devon you won't be disappointed.
Come over to my neck of the woods...I literally see lesser spotted woodpeckers in a tree outside my kitchen window regularly!
I have seen three species of spotted woodpecker and black woodpecker.
And last year ive seen the green woodpecker so I've finally seen all woodpeckers of my country.
seen them inthe willows on the side of the stream at the farm i grew up on at wokingham Berkshire UK
Saw my First a few years back at Pulborough Brooks RSPB during winter time which is best time to see as most of the 🍃 have fallen. ❤
The weirdest thing ever... The only place that I have consistently seen a LSW is in a different Brandon. In Norfolk! They nest there every year, it's just a short walk from Brandon village and it's called Santon Downham. You should check it out some time, they also have Goshawks, Stone curlews, Nightjars and TurtleDoves. Just a short drive away they have crossbills.
Also, if you do make it down. It's never been more than a five minute wait when we get there.
I love the size comparison!
That was the friendliest Canada Goose I have ever seen.
Honestly was a lovely chap 😂 I think they’re really cute little things
Y'all have a beautiful assortment of woodpeckers. New sub...great presentation! looking forward to seeing more great videos.
Hey. I have two species of woodpecker, feeding from my home window. Gray, and redhed and i think it is uk. Rare redhead woodpecker. I have UA-cam channel where can see this. 🤩 I am from Latvia.
I loved this video so much. You'll be giving Chris Packham a run for his money. 😊
The green woodpeckers regularly visit my lawn in search of eartworms - "big noises", nice sound, but the black woodpecker's cry is second to none.
The Green Woodpecker does not look for earthworms, but almost exclusively for ants. This is why he is hopping on lawns.
@@TheJacksnipe Thanks awfully for correcting me. Shame on me.
I often saw them in winter, they must nest nearby as I hear and see them all year round, trying to feed on pork fat, I hang it on the fir tree for tits, and then fly down on the ground and forage for something. I mistakenly guessed they looked for earthworms.
1:56 sure that was a GCHQ advert/test.
If you spotted that you now work on satellite imagery
Hahahah
Wait you dont have Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and Black Woodpeckers in Britain? I never realized that, kinda more thankful for them now.
I only saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker one time, near my friends home, it was a female with a black head, so I still gotta find a male.
Greater Spotted is a regular visitor in our garden, Black Woodpeckers are quite abundant in my home area, but hard to photograph, Green Woodpeckers are all over the Parks in Frankfurt and I also saw Middle Spotted Woodpeckers two times already, but that Lesser Spotted Woodpecker male is on my list for this year. The Grey-headed Woodpecker eluded me completly, but maybe I get Lucky this year.
Near the Alps we also got White-backed and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers, but I never went there.
Nice that you found it, awesome video man, you kinda inspired me to start looking for animals and film them here, the videos are in german tho, but we already got mouflons and next are European Bison, which are pretty hard, because theres only one herd living free in Germany and trying to locate them is nearly impossible 😅but we keep trying until we found them
Because we are an island and woodpeckers dont like to cross the sea, and then the island of Ireland only has Great Spotted and no other breeding woodpeckers at all! Another example, Greece has 10 breeding woodpecker species but the island of Lesvos, so close to the Turkish coast, only has 1 species, Middle Spotted, the others haven't colonised it.
Well, Cookie, hes only gone and done it again lol,, WTG,,,, Stunning footage
Thank you! Was good fun this one
I think your population estimate of 1000 is a little pessimistic; I've read some statements by experts recently that argue that lesser spots are under recorded in the UK due to being very hard to find, as well as the fact that much of their suitable habitat (such as the woodlands in Herefordshire where I am from) is very under watched. Perhaps this can be a basis for some naive optimism, but also a good reason for us to go looking for them! There is an excellent UK wide group called the Lesser Spot Network which helps co ordinate surveys for the species.
I see them in our local church yard and have photographed them several times , I cought one at Brandon marsh also.
Your dead right about the jay beautyfull colours was repointing a chimney and on the scaffold about 3 foot away landed a jay couldnt believe it
I’ve seen the greater spotted woodpecker in my garden and saw a green wood pecker in the grounds of the school I work in and a colleague from work had a lesser spotted wood pecker in her house x
In her house?! What?! 😂
I would bet it was a greater spotted in the house, rather than a lesser spotted. Luckily I’ve seen a couple of lesser spotted but by chance.
Had a surprise earlier this year when I saw a greater spotted checking out the holes in an air brick on the wall opposite my flats kitchen window, it’s feet having no problem holding onto the brickwork.
@@bluecard009 it is a lesser as I have a picture of it x
@@nikkimckenna340 do you mind putting it as your profile pic so we can see it?
@@Just_shush_now here you go, this us one of them taking it out to release.
FYI it's GREAT Spotted Woodpecker and not GREATER.
Correct
Omg! Ur vid jist came up so i thought if the green woodpecker would be on the list.....Its so rare & i saw 1 b4 i knew 1❤❤& most brightest ❤❤& largest ❤❤Feeling blessed 🎉Thanks
I have parakeets where I love started a couple now there's easily 50 plus green with orange beek
We get them every year outside our window but we do live in a wooded area .
I have seen one, in our garden, two years ago. It was eating bugs off the fence. I was gobsmacked and videoed it.....
North Norfolk.
I often hear woodpeckers pecking and then think of the Predator film as I'm surrounded by trees and it sounds similar.
How do they not get brain damage?
They wrap their tongues around their brain… weird init
@@WildlifeWithCookie no way
props to you for doing all of that without binoculars lol
I’ve never seen a greater spotted but I’ve seen a green and once years ago I think I was around 5 and I saw one in my grandparents garden
Cool aren't they!?
@@WildlifeWithCookie yeah
1000? This year there were less than 10 successful breeding pairs, with estimates of as low as 35 individuals remaining im the uk.
Maybe you could try turning down your ISO, when you point to the sky
I have had both the green and greater spotted woodpeckers in my garden, nice to see
Wicked! I only get Greaters now sadly
You should bring John along some other adventures! He seemed like a nice fella! :)
He’s great ain’t he!
I had no idea that the lesser was that rare. Or that small.
By a strange coincidence, James blunt is also 15 centimeters tall...
😂😂
Only ever got one Cromford Derbys Great vid
Your videos keep getting better and better! Loved the details and narration as well as the content.
Thank you!
Love ur vids I’ve bee subbed for quite long now
Thank you!
Great Spotted Woodpecker""
I’d love to see you do a finding a pine marten video those things are great
Lovely footage 👏
Thank you brother ❤️
Saw one of these in Manchester last month
I have saw one in Birmingham about 2006.
I totally spotted the phone
Phone spotting is better than your bird spotting then
Ive actually held a wild spotted woodpecker in my hand
Just in case you weren't aware, the Great spotted is Great, not Greater.
Let be honest the find the phone was a bit stupid, if you put same colours on it as the woodpecker it would have been easier. But get your point
😊Subscribed 👍
i refuse to believe any one spotted the phone
I dunno you know 😂 if you do a before and after and play spot the difference you‘ve got a chance
I love Brandon marsh
I've seen one!
Big cats uk
Love this content like
❤️❤️❤️
i wouldnt use the word "hunting"