The percussion of the great spotted woodpecker — a forgotten sound after such a long absence

The woodpecker’s place in Ireland isn’t a closed chapter with a neat conclusion. It’s an unfinished story

A mating pair of great spotted woodpeckers arrive at the nest at the same time while they continuously feed their chick inside a tree trunk. Picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Walking through Ballyannan Woods recently, I was stopped in my tracks by a sound that felt oddly out of place. A sharp, rapid rat-tat-tat echoed through the trees. 

It was too rhythmic for falling branches, too deliberate for chance. For a moment, I wondered if someone had brought a flat-pack shed into the woods and was assembling it with enthusiasm. Then it clicked. Or rather, it drummed.