I have a friendly lesser woodpecker. I'm a joiner and would like to encourage my friend to stay. What can I build to help encourage them. Picture was taken from my bird feeder in the rain. I was sat on my sofa

Hi there and welcome to the community forum;      the bird in your photo is a lovely male great spotted woodpecker (the red on his nape indicates a male bird) lesser spotted would have a red crown, are much smaller in size like a starling size and are a lot rarer to see.       It sounds as if you have all the skills to make a lovely bird feeding station out of natural timber;     If you have spare offcuts you could make a log feeder which you could hang up for the woodpeckers and drill (plug holes) into the wood which could be filled with raw pastry (plain flour and lard to make a pastry base as if making for a pie (but leave out the salt),   you can add crushed/kibbled peanuts, suet pellets and even a small handful of mild cheddar cheese to the mix and bind together with a little water to bring the pastry together but so it is not sticky - add more flour if pastry feels tacky).  Then push the raw pastry mix into the plug holes in the wooden feeder, then sit back and watch the woodpecker dine  !!        

Thank you and thanks for identifying it properly I wasn't sure with it having red on the back of its head. I'll have a go with the pastry. All the best. Danny