Great Spotted Woodpecker

In the last eight years or so a bird has been added to the Irish list that most birders living here had hoped for but never really thought would happen.  The bird in question is the Great Spotted Woodpecker.  To date there are regular reports and sightings all along the East coast and much further afield.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a bird I first had in Ireland in the Phoenix Park, Dublin in about 2010/11.  I put the hours in (as did many birders) and had various encounters throughout the park over a couple of years until eventually the novelty wore off and you just mark it down as a bird you know you can get if you really put the hours in.

Recently the GSW  has been photographed in Co. Louth, heard I believe but not seen in Co. Meath (open to correction on this one) and down every county on the Eastern side of the country as far as Waterford.  It's been a remarkable success story, a bird that is such an ever present in the UK but until recently had never been confirmed in Ireland.

This GSW was one I located at Newcastle, Co. Wicklow a few months ago.  I had only just opened the car door when I was greeted by the unmistakable drumming of this little beauty.

The moral of this little tale is that there are many birds which are common enough in the UK but have never taken the plunge and traveled the very short distance to us here to breed, heck there are some who haven't even bothered to appear in any way shape or form.  I'm personally hoping that the next one to make the jump is the Tawny Owl, a bird I've only ever seen once and yes that was in the UK.  I think it would make a cracking addition to our very short list of native owls.