Great-spotted Woodpecker question

[John K]

Hi,

For the last two days I've had a female gsw on a tree outside my window. At first I thought it was just feeding, but she is now clearly excavating a hole. It seems very early to be excavating a nesting hole, and I thought (perhaps wrongly) that the male did that. Any suggestions, please.

Many thanks,
John K

[Colin Key]

Hello John,

And welcome to the forum.

I do not think that hole excavation is an indication of breeding intent. I have large numbers of Great Spotted, and fewer Lesser Spotted, Woodpeckers around me and they make holes in anything from trees, to dead Agaves to telephone poles throughout the autumn/winter non-breeding season. It seems to be "compulsive behaviour" rather than a feeding tactic.

Colin :err:

[MichaelF]

Also possible that there's some wood-boring insects deep inside the wood worth digging out.

[John K]

Thank you both for your replies, and thank you for your welcome.

Shame though - the thought of watching a gsw nest next spring rather appealed.

John