A PLAN by a conservation group to reintroduce the great spotted woodpecker to Irish woodlands has been put on hold following a natural influx of the bird from Britain and northern Europe.

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) had planned to release woodpeckers into suitable woodland habitats to establish viable breeding populations. But the project has been suspended after sightings of adult and juvenile woodpeckers, or dendrocopos major, in several counties.

“It would appear that Mother Nature is one step ahead of us when it comes to the reintroduction of the great spotted woodpecker,” said Conor Kelleher, a conservationist leading the project.

“All the evidence suggests the species is flying here from Britain and Europe, and is colonising our forests. There are so many woodpeckers in Britain that there is literally no room for any more, so we think they are migrating to Ireland in search of new habitats.”

Best known for the drumming sound they make when marking their territory, woodpeckers have been seen in Meath, Louth, Kildare, Wicklow, Down and Antrim this year. Juvenile birds, identifiable by their bright red crowns, have been seen feeding at bird tables in Co Wicklow.

The IWT had planned to release wild specimens taken from Wales at suitable sites in Wicklow and Kerry to restore a species that vanished from Irish woodlands about 300 years ago. “We know the species was once present in Ireland because woodpecker bones were found during an archeological dig in Co Clare, though no-one knows why or exactly when the species died out,” said Kelleher.

Ornithologists believe the birds, which have a distinctive bouncing flight, are now breeding in the forests of Wicklow and Antrim.

“The several sightings of juvenile woodpeckers at bird tables in Wicklow during the summer months and early autumn are an indicator that they are now breeding here,” said Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland. “It is hard to find woodpecker nests so we cannot say for sure, but . . . people have also heard male woodpeckers drumming in forests, which is another positive sign. Woodpeckers drum to attract breeding females.”

Until this year’s influx, sightings were rare. There were just three confirmed sightings of great spotted woodpeckers between 1989 and 2004 in Wicklow, Down and Antrim. In 2005, three birds were recorded, which prompted BirdWatch Ireland to begin monitoring their numbers. Those sightings were followed by six reports in 2006 and four in 2007. BirdWatch Ireland has received 20 confirmed sightings this year.

One sighting in the Wicklow countryside involved a male and female chasing each other through a forest canopy, a sight which Hatch described as classic courtship behaviour. Many conservationists, including Hatch, suspect that more people have seen woodpeckers eating peanuts from garden feeders but do not recognise the species.

Eric Dempsey, a natural history author who runs the Birds Ireland website, said the arrival of dendrocopos major is a significant event for wildlife conservation in Ireland. “I think woodpeckers have taken a foothold in Ireland and once they establish themselves, they will become a common species,” he said.

Other species that have recently established themselves in Ireland include the little egret, from the Mediterranean, and the collared dove, a popular garden bird which was first recorded in the 1950s.

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