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In the webcam we have seen the middle spotted woodpecker in action for some  five years already. It is busy with selecting nuts... 

 

 

The middle spotted woodpecker started to spread in Estonia slowly from the south (until 2005 it was on the Bird rarities list, but by now it is already a breeder in restricted numbers).  The Otepää cemetery park is next to our bird feeding ground and in such parks and broadleaf forests they can be seen. Other places to see them: the Pühajärve park, Räpina park, Vana-Vastseliina castle park, Helme castle park, Raadi cemetery in Tartu, almost reaching to Central Estonia.

 

A small, quiet and modest bird, mainly busy in older broadleaf trees: it is not even always noticed. But already in March, when the urge to look for a mate awakens, we can hear a slightly distressed call - “väää-vää-vä...” - and then it is not hard to locate the caller in a tree stand or park.

 

The middle spotted woodpecker is a little larger than the lesser spotted woodpecker but in turn smaller than the great spotted woodpecker. All mentioned have white shoulders and wear the same plumage all year round. The black back plumage of the middle spotted woodpecker resembles the black back of the great spotted woodpecker. On the crown of the head a red streak (for the female the red colour stops at the top of the head, for the male it extends behind the nape), and so it can be confused with a great woodpecker juvenile from last summer. The pink area under the tail catches attention, also the streaked sides and the pale underparts. The beak is smaller than that of the other woodpeckers mentioned above – intended rather for pecking than demolishing; maybe this is why we seldom hear the middle spotted woodpecker “drumming”.

 

 

Listen to the calls of the middle spotted woodpecker recorded by Veljo Runnel: LINK

 

Middle spotted woodpecker