We hope you will enjoy listening to Penny's Podcast

Thanks Penny, we enjoyed recording this Wandering Ecologist Podcast with you, talking about our favourite bird the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser spotted woodpecker perched on thin branch

Our #JKLMNOP #BirdoftheDay is Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

This spring, audio monitoring may reveal that we have more of these elusive woodland dwellers than we thought. Find out more with @mallalieum.bsky.social and Chris Packham. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwft...

📷 @vaughnmatthews.bsky.social

Beautiful morning for our first 'early' Breeding Bird Survey @bbs-birds.bsky.social on the South Downs. Good numbers of birds, including Red Kite building a nest, Goshawk and pr of Buzzards.

Roundwick Copse, Plaistow

Nightingale heard singing this morning in Roundwick Copse, near Plaistow, W Sussex plus lovely spring flowers

Looking forward to @sussexornitholo.bsky.social Sussex Birds conference on 16 April. The @lesserspotnet.bsky.social stand will have all the latest exciting news of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Sussex & you can bid for a trip out to the woods with us to search for LSW sos.org.uk/news/sussex-...

Bowyer’s Wood Update: From Mystery to Discovery Spring arrives at Bowyer’s Wood as bioacoustic technology reveals elusive lesser spotted woodpeckers in this UK woodland—turning mystery into discovery.

Chris Packham asks the questions about Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers & our own @kenandlindasmith.bsky.social and @mallalieum.bsky.social provide the answers & latest updates in this video from ecotalk at Bowyers Wood. Watch here www.ecotalk.co.uk/community-st...

Bowyer’s Wood Update: From Mystery to Discovery Spring arrives at Bowyer’s Wood as bioacoustic technology reveals elusive lesser spotted woodpeckers in this UK woodland—turning mystery into discovery.

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were detected at Bowyers Wood in East Sussex by acoustic monitoring. Chris Packham (Chief Ecologist for Ecotalk, who are restoring the woodland) interviews @kenandlindasmith.bsky.social & @mallalieum.bsky.social about all things LSW www.ecotalk.co.uk/community-st...

Bluebells

Cowslips

Signs of spring here in Chichester. Bluebells in the wildlife area on our housing estate seem early. I (LS) have childhood memories (70 years ago) of seeing Bluebells in mid-May on my Dad's birthday. Cowslips along Centurion Way

It feels like such a rare treat to encounter a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker these days (especially in the UK), so seeing this male showing so well in the Spanish Pyrenees last week really was epic! #BirdsSeenIn2026

A male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in a Kentish wood

Workshop attendees enjoying the sight and sound of a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers

Attendees at the 2026 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker workshop

LSW habitat, Kent

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

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

What a weekend! It was a privilege for Kent to host 2026 @lesserspotnet.bsky.social workshop in the Blean! Interesting discussions had between different regions, good connections made, exciting things ahead. Some Lesser Spots didn’t go a miss either @kentishplover.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social

Read all about when @mallalieum.bsky.social met with Chris Packham to discuss the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and how, with the help of passive recording we may start to understand the true numbers in Sussex woodland.
sos.org.uk/news/spottin...

#UkBirding
#Sussexbirds

Success! Lesser spotted woodpeckers, a male and female pair. The morning after the lesser spotted woodpecker workshop. @ukrbbp.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Very positive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker news from Sussex in this video of a discussion between Chris Packham and Mark Mallalieu

Audio recorder in woodland

Out deploying audio recorders today in the hope of detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Cambs. First singing Chiffchaff plus Comma and lots of Brimstones.

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. 🫣

Woodpecker Network display at the conference

Enjoyed Sussex Biological Recorders Seminar last weekend. Lots of interest in @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & @sussexornitholo.bsky.social display about our Lesser Spotted Woodpecker survey in Sussex using passive sound recorders. Plan to survey 100 1xKm squares with wet woodland across the county.

After our talk about Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at @berksbirdclub.bsky.social thrilled to be given this woodcut monoprint on vintage wallpaper by the artist @peterdriver.bsky.social - 'Lesser Spotted now seldom seen' highlighting their decline since the wallpaper was made. Thank you Peter

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

And we’re off! With conditions less than favourable so far, it was good to get out to the Blean. Between 5-6 birds, including drumming and two territorial females ‘chittering’ started the LSW season off nicely #kentbirding @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Wet woodland habitat, good for woodpeckers

Mini sound recorder on birch tree

As part of @sussexornitholo.bsky.social Lesser Spotted Woodpecker survey using passive acoustic monitoring. We put our sound recorder out today hoping for fine weather on Saturday when LSW may be calling & drumming. Nice looking wet woodland habitat in the Weald near Midhurst @btobirds.bsky.social

Congratulations Graeme, our copy arrived today, it is very impressive and is going to be a great read.

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...

Ornitholidays advertisement from 1981

Farewell to Birdwatching Legend and Sussex naturalist - Lawrence G. Holloway, who has died aged 94. In 1965 he invented and pioneered 'Ornitholidays' the very first birdwatching holidays. Initially to European destinations, eg Mallorca, the holiday idea expanded worldwide & the rest is history.

First LSW visit for 2026 and two birds seen chasing each other. Here’s a (very poor quality) video of a female. The Blean, Kent, 31st January

It's arrived! Pan-species Listing: How to Become a Super-Naturalist published by @pelagicpublishing. My first book.
I am so pleased with it. It looks amazing, all those photos of incredible British species really make this a very colourful book and a celebration of how fantastic our wildlife is.

Congratulations Graeme, we are looking forward to seeing our copy.

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