Middle Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocoptes medius - Podcast
A Wondrous Sight
An intake of breath,
What did I see,
Dancing and pecking,
Around my tree?
What a surprise,
Such a delight,
Slender beak feeding,
A wondrous sight.
I’ve heard them drilling,
Seen them flash by,
Watching it closely,
I withhold a sigh.
A slender body,
Black, white, and red,
Wait, red on the belly,
But why on its head?
Snatching up morsels,
From cracks in the wood,
Slow rotting tree stumps,
A feast that is good.
I watched for ten minutes,
Just like a spy,
Not daring to move,
Or whisper ‘oh my.’
Middle-spotted woodpecker,
I now know your name,
Welcome to my garden,
I’m so glad you came.
We’ve heard woodpeckers, their drilling and pecking of trees echoing through the forests as we cycle past. It’s a fast and harsh sound as they hunt for food, or maybe they are letting other woodpeckers know they are around.
When I saw one this winter clinging to the fruit trees and pecking at the fat balls tucked inside coffee cups I was delighted, but sadly it was too far away for a photo, and I’ve never caught one on my wildlife camera which I keep forgetting to set up.
The greater spotted woodpecker is so distinctive with its tall profile black and white pattern and bright red feathers under its lower belly.
I watched another from my writing hut as it swung on a tiny cup but managed to have quite a feast before flying away.
The next time I saw one it was bouncing up one of the trees and it had a red cap as well as a red underbelly.
Now I learn that there is not only a lesser spotted (which doesn’t have a red underbelly and has a ladder pattern on its back) and a greater spotted woodpecker, but here in Europe we have a middle-spotted woodpecker which has a red cap like the juvenile greater-spotted. How complicated it can be to accurately identify a bird, but as it was in winter, I’m sure we have both greater and middle spotted woodpeckers visiting our garden.
I love learning something new when trying to identify the birds who visit our garden.
We’ve seen them on several more occasions through the winter. One time, I’d used a transparent mug and the poor bird was pecking at what it could see and was probably quite frustrated as the food alluded him. Once he had flown away, I removed the cup and replaced it with a smaller coffee cup. I didn’t want the woodpeckers to give up on our garden.
A greater spotted woodpecker is about the same size as a blackbird, but it is slimmer, or more upright in its posture.
The middle -spotted woodpecker is a little smaller at about 20cm long. Like the greater spotted the underparts are mostly black and white with white oval wing patches, but unlike the greater spotted it has a red crown, a pink streak, and darker lines on its sides. Although it is only slightly smaller than the greater spotter the middle spotted appears smaller due to its short slender beak and a more rounded pale head.
I did think the one I saw was smaller than usual and now I know why.
The middle-spotted woodpecker is a sedentary bird and has not yet migrated to the UK, not as far as I know anyway, some twitchers may say otherwise. It certainly is a pretty bird to watch.
Generally, like all woodpeckers, it likes to feed high in the trees, moving constantly as it searches cracks and crevasses for tasty maggots and other insects. They hop around, up, and down trees making it hard to see them and even harder to take a photo.
But they also like to feed in smaller trees in our garden, especially if there is a fat ball or two hanging in a container. They also like to explore slowing rotting tree stumps of which we have several due to cutting down a large pine which was scaring our neighbour with its lean towards her house a few years ago.
In the spring the female creates a nest hole about 5 cm wide in a decaying tree trunk or thick branch which explains the increase in tapping sounds in the early spring. It lays four to seven eggs which are incubated for 11–14 days. Both parents feed the chicks.
I’ve not seen any holes large enough for a nest in our garden, although we do have a dead ash tree which is losing its bark due to the woodpecker’s search for food.
The middle-spotted woodpecker eats insects and larvae which makes it another welcome visitor in the food garden. What I didn’t know, although I had observed this in our garden, is how it tends to pick the insects from branches and twigs rather than digging them out of the bark with their beaks. I think they may love our old apple tree which is covered in moss cities full of creatures small and tasty. I guess that’s why their beaks are more slender and shorter than a greater spotted woodpecker’s. It also likes tree sap and is rarely heard drumming, which proves we have both types around us.
Their song is a slow nasal gvayk gvayk gvayk gvayk gvayk and this is used to proclaim territory. Calls include a fast kik kekekekek, which I can hear at this very moment of writing, but I cannot see the singer. I’ve heard a high keek keek call and a gvak, and I didn’t realise it was the same bird. I’ve spent some time listening to the sound on the computer and had an ‘aha’ moment. We’ve heard this call when cycling and thought it was a baby bird, the tone is similar to a young gull’s call, but the sound is shorter and sharper.
I’m struggling to keep all the different bird calls and who sings them in my head, but I will not give up, it’s such a pleasure to hear a song and know the owner while we are out walking, cycling, or sitting in the garden.
A couple of weeks ago I saw one with feathers all askew, some sticking out at odd angles. It was small and very untidy, and its belly colour was a bright orange rather than red. I think it was either a juvenile or an old soul. It hopped and bounced from tree stump to tree stump, pecking and picking, frightening off the sparrows, clinging on with its sharp claws and generally being a delight to watch. Sadly, I was recording a blog and could not take a photo. When I did stop recording and picked up my phone the woodpecker flew away, I think they are quite shy.
Sometimes it’s better to enjoy watching the birds in the garden rather than trying to take a photo. I can still see the scruffy bird in my head whenever I want.
Middle-spotted woodpeckers are solitary and territorial, they tend to live with their partners which they generally stay with for life which can be anything from 6-11 years. Wow, I didn’t know that.
We are happy they will be around our garden for many years to come.
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