Where to see
Dendrocopos major
Białowieża National Park leads · 23 parks ranked by real sighting rates
Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Great Spotted Woodpecker during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)
| # | Park | Country | Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 7 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 9 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 10 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 13 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 14 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 15 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 16 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 17 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 18 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 19 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 20 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 21 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 22 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 23 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Białowieża National Park
In Białowieża National Park, Poland, about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Great Spotted Woodpecker sighting on a given day, the highest of the 23 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.
Nikko National Park and more
After Białowieża National Park, the next-best odds of seeing a Great Spotted Woodpecker are in Nikko National Park (Japan, about 60%), Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 50%) and Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 40%). Outside Europe, the best option is Nikko National Park in Asia (about 60%).
It depends on the park
In the top parks, the best months are July in Białowieża National Park (about 90%), April and May in Nikko National Park (about 70%) and August and October in Bavarian Forest National Park (about 70%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Great Spotted Woodpecker on a given day. Each park's Great Spotted Woodpecker page has the full month-by-month chart.
