Conclusion of the first part of the census of two woodpecker species

The first part of the census of two target woodpecker species started in the second half of March due to cold weather and high snow cover at higher altitudes. Census was conducted at 122 points for Eurasian three-toed woodpecker, at 132 points for white backed woodpecker and at 75 points for both species. In total Slovene forestry service has checked 329 points and external contractor DOPPS 99 points. When conducting the census we used loudspeakers, mp3 players, binoculars and GPS purchased within this project.

The first days of census were mostly dedicated to white backed woodpecker which lives at lower altitudes. Three-toed woodpecker prefers higher altitudes with more persistent snow cover and was not yet active in March. On 26.3.2015 we received the results of census conducted by DOPPS. In total we registered 22 white backed and 20 three-toed woodpeckers. At lower altitudes we already started the second round of census in which we will revisit all the census points.