Great spotted woodpeckers confirmed breeding in Ireland for the first time

11/11/2009 12:39:21 Birdlife Ireland report that Great Spotted woodpeckers appear to have colonised Ireland - From an article by Dik Coombes
November 2009. Twelve months ago we reported on the marked increase in sightings of Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Ireland over the last couple of years. Unprecedented activity in the spring of 2008, which included several birds drumming and a pair performing courtship behaviour, represented a significant break from the "norm" of occasional Scandinavian birds turning up during winter irruptions.

Though no direct evidence of nesting was found, at least four juvenile Great Spotted woodpeckers (easily told from adults by their distinctive red crowns) turned up at nut feeders in Wicklow and south Dublin gardens in July and August - the birds too young and occurring too early, it was felt, to have been immigrants from overseas.

This all pointed strongly to the probability that breeding in the Republic had definitely taken place in 2008 (successful breeding in Northern Ireland had already been confirmed annually since 2006). So, as we came into early spring this year, the pressure was on - there was some unfinished business from last year to attend to! But who could have predicted the scale and drama of events that would unfold in the months to follow?

Click here to read the full article on the Birlife Ireland website