This semester, I am taking a Geography course that requires me to research a bird of my choice and become really familiar with it. The bird that I chose is the Red-headed Woodpecker. Let me begin by describing what the bird looks like and what their sizes are. Adults are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red
head, neck, and throat. Their underparts are mainly white. The wings are black
with white around them. Juveniles are similarly shaded, but are mottled with brown. Both males and females sizes range from 7.5-9.1 inches in length, with a
wingspan of 16.5 inches. They weigh 2.0 to 3.2 ounces. In breeding season, Red-headed Woodpecker utters a loud “queark”.
Common call is guttural rattle “churr-churr”. Alarm call at nest is
“krit-tar-rah” or “quarr-quarr-quarr”. Drumming lasts one second and it is repeated two or three times.
Also for this project, I need to find an organization that is willing to help my bird avoid becoming instinct. The red-headed woodpeckers are considered a threatened species because their population is decreasing. There are quite a few organizations that are are always helping the threatened or endangered species of wildlife. One of them happens to be the The National Wildlife Federation. The main thing that many people can do is to volunteer and educate yourself about what is happening in wildlife today.
Many do not understand, but the one thing you can do to help species that are threatened or endangered is to volunteer! There are always organizations near by willing to take on volunteers. you can restore habitat, run information tables at event.
Things you can do for woodpeckers:
- Stock your bird feeders: Attract woodpeckers to your
yard and enjoy watching their behavior by putting out suet, peanuts, and
sunflower seeds.
- Let dead trees stand: Dead trees are critical to the
lives of our woodpeckers, both as sources of food and as nesting sites
for raising young and later roosting.
- Leave the leaf piles: Leaves are an important place
for insects to hibernate through winter and can be a great place for
woodpeckers like the Northern Flicker to forage.
- Plant some berry trees and vines: While poison ivy
may not be on the top of your list, you can plant Virginia creeper,
dogwood, and sumac. In many places around Loudoun County these grow
naturally, so if you have a “volunteer” that shows up in your yard, you
can simply let it grow.
