Unlike their greater spotted cousins, lesser spotted woodpeckers are not able to make their nests in living trees.
“They don’t have the strength of beak to get through the bark of living material,” said Laura Henderson, the director of English Woodlands Forestry, who look after the 167 hectares of woodland on the Gravetye Estate.
Henderson said now they knew the woodpecker was living in their woods, they could manage the woodland to help the bird.
She said they could leave what is called a “totem” when cutting down an “already damaged or diseased” tree so that “a big trunk of dead material” remained.
“It removes any risk that it’s going to be a health and safety risk but it provides brilliant deadwood habitat,” she added.
The audio recordings are continuing this year and the University of Sussex team hope to pick up more calls of lesser spotted woodpeckers.
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