Knock On Wood

Autumn is full of incredible journeys, wood and a family of headbangers is preparing for a noisy homecoming for which we can all get a front-row seat this month, as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Tom Marshall reports

- Tom Marshall

FROM classic cartoons, to sitting alongside Bagpuss in a favourite childhood TV show, woodpeckers often feature on the small screen – but how many of us have seen one in real life?

There are just three native woodpeckers in the UK; and like all the most fascinating species, a generous variation in sizes – from as small as a finch to as large as a crow – make them one of most intriguing groups of birds to seek out.

While their distinctive nest-holes leave a tell-tale sign in our woodlands, seeing a woodpecker still remains a treat, and with trees shedding their leafy coats for the winter ahead, these high flyers can be easier to spot.

The most ubiquitous, and very much a regular garden visitor nowadays is the great spotted woodpecker. Sitting in the middle of the gang size-wise at about 22cm (8-9in) long, this is the Phil Collins of the woodland canopy, tapping out their distinctive echoing drum each spring, at over 20 times a second.

With most of us likely to get a migraine just thinking about that amount of head- banging, the woodpecker in contrast, is ideally suited. A reinforced skull and an array of special muscles and elastic tissues provide the perfect set of natural shock absorbers for an action so intense that it’s barely visible to the human eye.