Woodpecker is a rare sigh near Malmesbury
12:00pm Sunday 12th February 2012 in News
The lesser spotted woodpecker ringed in Wiltshire. Picture by West Wilts Bird Ringing Group
A threatened bird, rarely seen in the south, has been recorded and ringed by the West Wilts Bird Ringing Group.
Volunteers, who were working in Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Ravens-roost Wood nature reserve, near Malmesbury, recorded and ringed a first-year male lesser spotted woodpecker – the smallest and rarest of the three woodpeckers which can be found in Britain.
Once common, the tiny woodpeckers are said to have suffered a massive decline of over 50 per cent in the past 25 years.
Neil Pullen, trust reserves manager, said: “When we do these surveys we always hope to find something less common, but to find something as rare as the lesser spotted woodpecker is a real treat.”
According to the RSPB, there are only about 1,400-2,900 breeding pairs of lesser spotted woodpeckers in the UK and the trust says its appearance indicates the work carried out by its volunteers is benefiting a wide range of species.
