The Middle Spotted Woodpecker is one of the most sought-after woodpeckers species by European birders. Rare over most of it’s range and not occurring in Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland and most of Spain, the Middle Spotted Woodpecker is high on the wish list of many birders. In this post I give you some hints on how to find this beautiful and interesting bird.

• Search for them in Spring, when there are still no leaves on the trees. The best time in Central Europe Europe is from February to Mai.
• Know the Habitat. You won’t find the species in coniferous forests. They prefer deciduous forest with old trees, especially oaks, hornbeams and elms, but also old European beeches and Alders. Beeches are best suited for the species when they are old, because only then their bark will rough. They won’t mind some conifers, but if there are no old deciduous trees, the changes for finding the species are very small. Sometimes they can be found in large parks. The more natural the forest is, the higher are the changes to find the Middle Spotted Woodpecker, as well as other woodpecker species.
• Listing to calls. Middle Spotted woodpeckers rarely drum. But during the breeding season, they are very vocal. It’s hard to describe bird calls. The best advice is to listen to the calls on a CD. Also compare them to the calls of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.
• Learn everything about the Great Spotted Woodpecker and the other similar species (Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker), so that you know how to distinguish the Middle Spotted Woodpecker from the other species. Often you only get a short and not very good view. Then you have to know for what plumage details you have to look for.
• Look high in the trees. Middle Spotted Woodpeckers spent most of their time high in the trees, searching for food, especially on dead branches.
• Be patient and quiet. As with many bird species, patience pays of. If you are in suitable habitat, be quiet, listen to calls and search the branches I mentioned above.

I hope those tips will help you find Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. Next week I will explain you how to search for Golden Eagles.
For more information about European woodpeckers, check out: http://woodpeckersofeurope.info