Pre-breeding foraging and nest site habitat selection by Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos minor in mature woodland blocks in England

Abstract

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos minor have dramatically declined and retracted in range in Britain. Pre-breeding foraging may be critical and, although work has been carried out elsewhere in Europe our knowledge of habitat requirements for British birds is limited.We aim to describe foraging behaviour and selection of foraging locations in the pre-breeding period; and to provide descriptions of nest sites and wider habitat selection for nesting.We recorded foraging behaviour, attributes of foraging trees and nest site characteristics and compared them with random areas within woods. Small branches of live oaks at heights usually in the upper third of the tree were most frequently used for foraging. At a wider scale, areas selected contained more deadwood. Nest cavities were usually placed in the upper half of a tree, and oak was commonly used. For nesting, open areas were selected with more dead trees and a mature structure. Many of the attributes important for foraging and nesting have changed in English woodlands in the direction expected to have negative impacts on this species, except for deadwood. Further work shouldmeasure food availability in areas of differing structures. Knowledge of declining species' resource requirements allows targeted and informed management for conservation.