Compared with the rest of northwest Europe, Britain has a relatively impoverished woodpecker avifauna with only three widespread species – Green Woodpecker Picus
viridis, Great Spotted Dendrocopos major and Lesser Spotted Dryobates minor. Green and Great Spotted woodpeckers are increasing in Britain whereas Lesser
Spotted is in serious decline and is red-listed. We use our long-term studies to explore the reasons for the contrasting trends of Great and Lesser Spotted woodpecker
populations.

Ken Smith worked for almost 30 years for the RSPB in what is now the Centre for Conservation Science. Over that time, he worked on a wide range of species and habitats and contributed to many conservation initiatives. In the 1980s he completed his first RSPB project on woodland birds - a national survey of woodland breeding birds which was repeated in 2003/4. That first project was enough to kindle an enduring interest in woodlands and especially woodpeckers. In 2015, Ken with his wife Linda set up www.woodpecker-network.org.uk with the express purpose of promoting the study of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and collecting important data on their nesting success.

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