Lesser is more!

Most mornings local birders have been out and about sighting the Hawfinch perched at the top of the Lime trees but recently a faint pneumatic drumming has been heard......could it be the increasingly common Great Spotted Woodpecker?
Well actually it is the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a big tick on the birder's yearly list. The size of a a Sparrow or Greenfinch this elusive bird has a tighter drumming noise than the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Seen hear flying away from a dead tree its contrasting markings are very identifiable. Taken by a local photographer it shows the black and white markings and you can sex both Great and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by the inclusion or exclusion of a red patch on the head.

Males have the red patch and females do not (all juveniles have it until they moult).