A fantastic first season, exceeding all my expectations. In temperatures that dropped to below minus 25, the feeders were amazing - loads of Great and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, about eighteen individual birds on a daily basis, plus a stunning male Grey-headed Woodpecker and a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. On top of these, though not at the feeders, two Black Woodpeckers could be found most days.

If winter one had exceeded my expectations, winter two simply exploded them! In addition to growing numbers of Great and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, I was delighted to see the return of both the male Grey-headed Woodpecker and male Lesser Woodpecker. As the winter plunged to a bone-chilling minus 32 C, it was was not uncommon to see five species of woodpecker per day, frequently four on the feeders together. In February, the feeders got even better with the arrival of female Grey-headed and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, both joining the males. Mid-winter census suggested 23-28 individual woodpeckers were using the feeders.

The show got better and better! With the addition of a new plot of land adjacent to the existing, it was time for the establishment of another feeding station! About two kilometres from the first, the new feeding station, as a contrast to the original, was surrounded by open meadows and set in a garden with plentiful trees. I had expected this site to be favoured rather more by Tree Sparrows and finches, perhaps not by woodpeckers. How wrong I was!!!

Not only did this new site attract Grey-headed Woodpeckers too, but a White-backed Woodpecker flew over in late summer, prompting dreams that this mega species might venture onto the feeders. The winter was about to astonish me again - a total of four Grey-headed Woodpeckers used the feeders, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker tally also rose to four, but outshining them all, a fantastic White-backed Woodpecker did take to the feeders, a male at the forest feeders from late January.

What a stunning winter, the best so far. An amazing seven species of woodpecker spent the winter around the feeding station, including a Three-toed Woodpecker (my first in Lithuania), two Grey-headed Woodpeckers, a female White-backed Woodpecker and all the regular species. Amazingly, a male White-backed Woodpecker also appeared in mid-March, the pair then going on to breed.