There are many ways public and private landowners can contribute to the preservation of the Red-headed Woodpecker. From a bird’s-eye view, golf courses, cemeteries, park lands and even suburban landscapes can replicate the Red-Head’s requirement for savannah. Small farmsteads and open rural land can provide good Red Headed Woodpecker habitat. Once again, the key is the presence of snags, or what naturalists call "wildlife trees."
Private landowners can make a big difference as well. Oak savannah is one of the most critically imperiled upland habitat types in the world. If you have oak savannah on your land, consider managing it with brush cutting or controlled fire to improve habitat not only for red-headed woodpeckers, but the many additional rare and endangered plants and animals that depend on this dwindling habitat.
Another key part of Red Headed Woodpecker recovery involves public education by simply encouraging the preservation of dead snags. Generally, our culture equates dead trees with worthless, or dangerous, trees. However, dead snags, or wildlife trees, provide nesting and feeding opportunities for many birds and small mammals. Woodpeckers may excavate the original cavities, but when they abandon them, squirrels, mice, screech owls and other birds who are incapable of digging their own holes quickly move in.
Whenever possible landowners should retain a few dead trees as nesting areas for woodpeckers. To relieve the problem of dead snags blowing over and becoming a hazard, the majority of the small limbs at the top of the tree can be lopped off, leaving the main trunk and some of the larger limbs. Red Headed Woodpeckers actually seem to prefer nesting in limbs rather than the main trunk, so be sure to leave some major limb segments.
It is important that the general public have the proper education in order to preserve the wildlife and their habitats. The various states in the South have conservation education programs to start with. It may seem pointless but it is really important that the general public be aware as to the kind of damage they are causing to, not only the Red Headed Woodpecker, but also the other wildlife. With the proper education, it is possible for people to preserve the habitats of the Woodpecker. If their habitat is preserved, there could be an increase in the Woodpecker population.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
What the Redheaded Woodpecker Needs
Woodpeckers help control
insect populations and create nest cavities that are used by other
birds and mammals who cannot excavate the cavities themselves.
Nuthatches, screech owls, kestrels, starlings, squirrels, flying
squirrels, deer mice, and raccoons all use woodpecker tree cavities.
Woodpeckers are well adapted
to maneuvering around tree trunks searching for insects and spiders.
Their toes—two facing forward, two facing backward—enable woodpeckers to
grasp vertical tree trunks and their stiff tail feathers provide an
extra measure of support. With their sturdy beaks, woodpeckers can bore
holes into trees for feeding and chisel out cavities for nesting. Strong
muscles at the base of the beak act as shock absorbers to absorb the
pressure from the force of impact. Bristles lining their nostrils filter
out dust and tiny wood chips. To extract insects from crevices and
holes in trees, woodpeckers have a long, sticky tongue with a barbed end
with which they can snag insects. Some woodpeckers prefer dead
trees in which to excavate a nest while others choose live trees. Some
species will re-use a nest cavity from year to year while others prefer
to create a new one. Red-headed woodpeckers will use an existing cavity,
not necessarily of their own making.
Habitat loss poses the
greatest threat to woodpeckers. Developers
often cull dead trees from wood lots leaving the red-headed woodpecker without the dead and decaying
trees they need to nest and raise their young. In addition, developed
areas often encourage the presence of starlings, non-native birds that
invariably out-compete and displace woodpeckers for nesting sites.
Red-headed Woodpecker has some predators, such as raptors (hawks,
falcons, owls), and red-foxes. Eggs and chicks are taken by snakes,
raccoons and flying squirrels.
Red-headed Woodpecker feeds in open areas. It needs snags for nesting,
roosting and foraging. It can be found in open deciduous woodlands,
orchards, parks, agricultural areas, grasslands, forest edges, burned
forests.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Redheaded Woodpecker and The Economy
Farming continues in the South today, although not to the extent that it was practiced during Reconstruction, and the crops are different. Today instead of cotton and tobacco, Southern farms grow crops like soybeans and corn. Also common are family-owned chicken farms or egg farms, that also focus on a single product. Sharecropping and tenant farming are no longer common methods of agriculture. Red headed Woodpeckers like to feed on these various things, but not as much as nuts, berries, and insects. Agriculture in the Southern United States has not affected the way the Woodpecker feeds.
Today, much of the agriculture in the South has been replaced by other types of jobs, including manufacturing and service jobs. Examples of this type of industry include, car manufacturing, telecommunications, textile manufacturing, technology, banking, and aviation. Bank of America has their banking headquarters in North Carolina. Nissan, Volkswagen, and BMW all have major manufacturing plants in states like Alabama.
Agricultural changes even include building in rural and urban areas. This causes the destruction of homes for the Woodpecker. They often live in trees and telephone poles. While theses trees are being destroyed and being replaced by buildings, the Woodpecker has to find someplace else to go. Woodpeckers cause property damage by drilling holes in wood and synthetic stucco siding and eaves, and are an annoyance when hammering or "drumming" on houses. Woodpeckers hammer to attract mates, to establish and/or defend a territory, to excavate nesting or roosting sites, and to search for insects. Wooden shingles, cedar or redwood siding, metal or plastic gutters, television antennas, chimney caps, and light posts are selected as drumming sites because these materials produce loud sounds.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Redheaded Woodpecker in the Cultural Landscape
Approximately one-third of U.S. lands are covered by forests, which makes forest ecosystems prominent natural resources that contribute to biodiversity, water quality, carbon storage, and recreation. Forests also play a significant role in the U.S. economy, and forestry or forestry-related enterprises are the dominant industries in many U.S. communities. Human-induced climate change over the next century is projected to change temperature and precipitation, factors that are critical to the distribution and abundance of tree species. A previous report in this series addressed the risks to terrestrial ecosystems posed by climate change.
Key findings include:
Forest location, composition, and productivity will be altered by changes in temperature and precipitation. Climate change is virtually certain to drive the migration of tree species, resulting in changes in the geographic distribution of forest types and new combinations of species within forests. Generally, tree species are expected to shift northward or to higher altitudes. In addition, climate change is likely to alter forest productivity depending upon location, tree species, water availability, and the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization.
• Changes in forest disturbance regimes, such as fire or disease, could further affect the future of U.S.
forests and the market for forest products. Increased temperatures could increase fire risk in areas that experience increased aridity, and climate change could promote the proliferation of diseases and pests that attack tree species. Such disturbances may be detrimental to forests themselves, but may have a lesser impact at the market level due to salvage operations that harvest timber from dying forests.
• U.S. economic impacts will vary regionally. Overall, economic studies indicate that the net impacts of climate change on the forestry sector will be small, ranging from slightly negative to positive impacts; however, gains and losses will not be distributed evenly throughout the United States. The Southeast, which is currently a dominant region for forestry, is likely to experience net losses, as tree species migrate northward and tree productivity declines. Meanwhile, the North is likely to benefit from tree migration and longer growing seasons.
• As a managed resource, the implications of climate change for the forestry sector are largely dependent upon the actions taken to adapt to climate change. The United States has vast forest resources and currently consumes less timber than grows within the country each year. If professional foresters take proactive measures to substitute thriving tree species for failing species, to relocate forestry industry to productive regions, and to salvage trees during dieback, the sector may minimize the negative economic consequences of climate change.
• A number of challenges currently limit our understanding of the effects of climate change on forestry. Existing projections for future changes in temperature and precipitation span a broad range, making it difficult to predict the future climate that forests will experience, particularly at the regional level. The ecological models used to relate forest distribution and productivity to changes in climate introduce additional uncertainty. Thus, current projections could fail to accurately predict the actual long-term impacts of climate change on the forestry sector.
**All of these various changes can cause a dramatic shock to the redheaded woodpecker because if the climate decides to change, then this causes the precipitation levels to change, which causes nutrients to decrease. All this is is one domino chain. If the ecosystem does not get the nutrients that it needs, then the bird does not get the nutrients that it needs and it causes it to starve, or not have any where for it to live because the trees die. If this landscape changes in the Inland South region of the United States then this bird could be in serious trouble. If there are no trees, then it is difficult for the bird to drum, difficult for it to nest, and also to feed. It is important to become aware of what is happening because the reason for these various changes are because of our species. Our species could be the cause of the death of another species...think about it.
Key findings include:
Forest location, composition, and productivity will be altered by changes in temperature and precipitation. Climate change is virtually certain to drive the migration of tree species, resulting in changes in the geographic distribution of forest types and new combinations of species within forests. Generally, tree species are expected to shift northward or to higher altitudes. In addition, climate change is likely to alter forest productivity depending upon location, tree species, water availability, and the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization.
• Changes in forest disturbance regimes, such as fire or disease, could further affect the future of U.S.
forests and the market for forest products. Increased temperatures could increase fire risk in areas that experience increased aridity, and climate change could promote the proliferation of diseases and pests that attack tree species. Such disturbances may be detrimental to forests themselves, but may have a lesser impact at the market level due to salvage operations that harvest timber from dying forests.
• U.S. economic impacts will vary regionally. Overall, economic studies indicate that the net impacts of climate change on the forestry sector will be small, ranging from slightly negative to positive impacts; however, gains and losses will not be distributed evenly throughout the United States. The Southeast, which is currently a dominant region for forestry, is likely to experience net losses, as tree species migrate northward and tree productivity declines. Meanwhile, the North is likely to benefit from tree migration and longer growing seasons.
• As a managed resource, the implications of climate change for the forestry sector are largely dependent upon the actions taken to adapt to climate change. The United States has vast forest resources and currently consumes less timber than grows within the country each year. If professional foresters take proactive measures to substitute thriving tree species for failing species, to relocate forestry industry to productive regions, and to salvage trees during dieback, the sector may minimize the negative economic consequences of climate change.
• A number of challenges currently limit our understanding of the effects of climate change on forestry. Existing projections for future changes in temperature and precipitation span a broad range, making it difficult to predict the future climate that forests will experience, particularly at the regional level. The ecological models used to relate forest distribution and productivity to changes in climate introduce additional uncertainty. Thus, current projections could fail to accurately predict the actual long-term impacts of climate change on the forestry sector.
**All of these various changes can cause a dramatic shock to the redheaded woodpecker because if the climate decides to change, then this causes the precipitation levels to change, which causes nutrients to decrease. All this is is one domino chain. If the ecosystem does not get the nutrients that it needs, then the bird does not get the nutrients that it needs and it causes it to starve, or not have any where for it to live because the trees die. If this landscape changes in the Inland South region of the United States then this bird could be in serious trouble. If there are no trees, then it is difficult for the bird to drum, difficult for it to nest, and also to feed. It is important to become aware of what is happening because the reason for these various changes are because of our species. Our species could be the cause of the death of another species...think about it.
The Redheaded Woodpecker and its 21st Century Neighbors
During the late 1700s and 1800s, the red-headed woodpecker was a
common and widespread species in the Northeast. In the late1800s, large
concentrations of these birds were observed during fall migration
in New York and Long Island. Now they are considered to be an uncommon
migrant there. Today, only a handful of migrants are observed during
migration in Cape May.
By the turn of the 20th century, red-headed woodpeckers had suffered population declines due to several different factors. Road mortality, competition with European starlings for nesting cavities, and harvesting for their feathers all contributed to their decline. Many populations of avian species were greatly reduced to provide feathers for women’s hats. Farmers also killed red-headed woodpeckers because they damaged fruit and berry crops. Further population declines were observed from the 1930s to the 1970s. Habitat loss, the limited availability of nesting sites, and road mortality exacerbated their decline.
Red-headed Woodpeckers have declined since the 1900s as their preferred savanna-type nesting habitats have become increasingly scarce due to outright habitat destruction and succession into closed forests through fire suppression and reductions in grazing.
Due to the loss of habitat, the Red-headed Woodpecker is a bird rarely seen. Its breeding ground includes woodlands and grasslands throughout North America. When it comes to building a nest, the Red-headed Woodpecker is like a squatter. It would rather take over an abandoned nest than build its own. It will even go so far as to use force to take over another bird's nest.
These birds are considered annoying because they have been known to cause damage to homes,they like to "drum," and they are early risers, which causes them to be noisy in the morning with their pecking of the trees.
Woodpeckers are a federally protected bird under the North American Migratory Bird Act.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act decreed that all migratory birds and their parts (including eggs, nests, and feathers) were fully protected. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is the domestic law that affirms, or implements, the United States' commitment to four international conventions (with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia) for the protection of a shared migratory bird resource.
By the turn of the 20th century, red-headed woodpeckers had suffered population declines due to several different factors. Road mortality, competition with European starlings for nesting cavities, and harvesting for their feathers all contributed to their decline. Many populations of avian species were greatly reduced to provide feathers for women’s hats. Farmers also killed red-headed woodpeckers because they damaged fruit and berry crops. Further population declines were observed from the 1930s to the 1970s. Habitat loss, the limited availability of nesting sites, and road mortality exacerbated their decline.
Red-headed Woodpeckers have declined since the 1900s as their preferred savanna-type nesting habitats have become increasingly scarce due to outright habitat destruction and succession into closed forests through fire suppression and reductions in grazing.
Due to the loss of habitat, the Red-headed Woodpecker is a bird rarely seen. Its breeding ground includes woodlands and grasslands throughout North America. When it comes to building a nest, the Red-headed Woodpecker is like a squatter. It would rather take over an abandoned nest than build its own. It will even go so far as to use force to take over another bird's nest.
These birds are considered annoying because they have been known to cause damage to homes,they like to "drum," and they are early risers, which causes them to be noisy in the morning with their pecking of the trees.
Woodpeckers are a federally protected bird under the North American Migratory Bird Act.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act decreed that all migratory birds and their parts (including eggs, nests, and feathers) were fully protected. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is the domestic law that affirms, or implements, the United States' commitment to four international conventions (with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia) for the protection of a shared migratory bird resource.
The Red-headed Woodpecker and Euorpean Settlement
The red-headed woodpecker's migration during the period before and during the early European settlement was influenced by hard mast crop abundance. A favorite food at that time was the beech nut. This resulted in their migration to the large tracts of beech trees in the eastern US where there were vast forests of beech trees. How-ever during the European settlement these forests were cut and turned into farmland. By the early 1900s this source of food was largely gone.
This abundance of food resulted in the migration of the red-headed woodpecker to these beech forests, regardless of where they had been during the breeding season. Red-headed woodpeckers from Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada would move south to these forests. Red-headed woodpeckers from the upper plains, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois would often move east to these forests. Red-headed woodpeckers from the east would move west and sometime even southern birds would move north to take advantage of the abundance of beech nuts.
Acorns were also a food source that influenced their movement or non-movement and still is to this day1. The oak savannah‟s were not only their breeding residences, but also would be their non-breeding residences and would attract red-headed woodpeckers from areas where the mast production was low for that year.
Acorns were also a food source that influenced their movement or non-movement and still is to this day1. The oak savannah‟s were not only their breeding residences, but also would be their non-breeding residences and would attract red-headed woodpeckers from areas where the mast production was low for that year.
During the late 1700s and 1800s, the red-headed woodpecker was a common and widespread species in the Northeast. In the late 1800s, large concentrations of these birds were observed during fall migration in New York and Long Island. Now they are considered to be an uncommon migrant there. Today, only a handful of migrants are observed during migration in Cape May.
When European settlers landed on the shores of the
Atlantic Coast, they found a widely varied landscape. While many believe
that the entire northeastern United States was covered in mature
forest, historical evidence suggests otherwise. Early explorers wrote
about vast prairie-like expanses of grassland and open woodlands of
park-like quality, and described many early successional plants, shrubs
and trees.
They also spoke frequently of a land brimming with wildlife species often associated with early successional landscapes (grasslands, open woodlands, shrub-scrub habitats). Native Americans used fire as a tool to make hunting and traveling easier. Naturally occurring wildfire and fires set by the Indians helped shape the pre-European landscape of North America, which included a mosaic of early successional habitats. The practice of burning forests and grasslands was, and still is, a universal practice among aboriginal people around the world.
As Europeans settled, land-use changes occurred. By the early 1800s, much of the forests had been cut down and early-successional habitats were widespread. As agricultural practices began to change again throughout the 20th Century, early-successional areas were lost as farm fields reverted to forests or subdivisions and shopping malls.
The Red Headed Woodpecker and Native Americans and More
This blog post is about how the woodpecker interacted with Native Americans back in Pre-Columbian time. There are many tales and some wisdom about how the woodpecker survived and interacted during this time. Here are a few myths, possible truths, and some wisdom that can be lived by, even today.
According to Hupa tradition, all customs were formed in an earlier mythological period of the peoples; existence. One notable custom concerned social status, which was defined by inheritable material possessions such as albino deerskin, large obsidian blades, and headdresses decorated with re-headed woodpecker scalps.
The woodpecker was a war symbol of the Cherokee Indians, and its head was used as a battle ornament, particularly by Plains tribes.
The woodpecker may reminds us to be mindful of our words. It has a narrow tongue, extremely effective for picking up food in narrow places. This is symbolic for using a narrow route to get the most profound effect. The woodpecker asks us to use fewer words to make a stronger impact in our statement. Native American wisdom also prescribes drumming as a means to journeying, and so many tribes considered the woodpecker as an other-worldly messenger, and a prophet.
In many cultures the woodpecker is associated with thunder and lighting. An Italian proverb claims that its pecking forecasts rain and in some areas the bird is thought to be a rainmaker. The opposite is true in North America where the Prairie Indians believe the woodpecker protects its friends from lightning and storms. Perhaps because of its fiery head, this bird is attributed with bringing the gift of fire to the Semang Negito.
According to Pawnee mythology, the woodpecker and the turkey once had a debate as to which bird should be called the protector of humankind. The turkey felt she deserved the title since she laid the largest clutch of eggs. However, the woodpecker's cautious ways won the argument since she kept her young safely nestled inside the tall tree trunks. Although the woodpecker laid fewer eggs, the survival rate of her young was greater than that of the turkey's because she taught them so well that they were certain to live to old age.
Greeco-Roman mythology contains a few stories about gods who were changed into woodpeckers. Circe turned Picus, the Roman god of agriculture and manure, into one because he rejected her. Since Picus was famous for his divination skills, this bird became a symbol of prophecy. In Greece, Celeus was changed into a green woodpecker for attempting to steal honey from the baby Zeus.
The woodpecker was associated with ploughing and agriculture because it appeared to use its beak to plow for insects. This bird was called the "Axe of Ishtar." (Ishtar was the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, and war. Her lovers tended to come to an evil end but the only death she regretted was that of her brother-husband, Tammuz. A fertility-agriculture cult grew up around the death, resurrection, and marriage of Tammuz and became so popular that Jewish women wept for Tammuz at the gates of the temple in Jerusalem. The woodpecker was sacred to Mars and fed his young sons, Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, as they hid in a cave.
According to a Lakota legend, the red-headed woodpecker taught a poor young suitor how to make and play the first flute. The suitor was then able to win the respect of his tribe and the hand of the chief's beautiful daughter. That is why their flutes are made to resemble this bird.
In Christian tradition, the damage done to wood by this bird makes it a symbol of Satan and heresy which weakens the human soul just as the woodpecker hollows or weakens the tree he pecks at. One legend states that when God called upon the birds to help Him dig rivers, lakes, and seas into the face of the earth, the woodpecker refused to join in. Because of this, it was forbidden to drink anything but rain and sentenced to peck wood.
This bird is a fertility symbol. It is considered a guardian of the trees, a traveler's guide, and a lucky omen. Its nest-holes are symbolic of security, protection, and a return to the womb.
According to Hupa tradition, all customs were formed in an earlier mythological period of the peoples; existence. One notable custom concerned social status, which was defined by inheritable material possessions such as albino deerskin, large obsidian blades, and headdresses decorated with re-headed woodpecker scalps.
The woodpecker was a war symbol of the Cherokee Indians, and its head was used as a battle ornament, particularly by Plains tribes.
The woodpecker may reminds us to be mindful of our words. It has a narrow tongue, extremely effective for picking up food in narrow places. This is symbolic for using a narrow route to get the most profound effect. The woodpecker asks us to use fewer words to make a stronger impact in our statement. Native American wisdom also prescribes drumming as a means to journeying, and so many tribes considered the woodpecker as an other-worldly messenger, and a prophet.
In many cultures the woodpecker is associated with thunder and lighting. An Italian proverb claims that its pecking forecasts rain and in some areas the bird is thought to be a rainmaker. The opposite is true in North America where the Prairie Indians believe the woodpecker protects its friends from lightning and storms. Perhaps because of its fiery head, this bird is attributed with bringing the gift of fire to the Semang Negito.
According to Pawnee mythology, the woodpecker and the turkey once had a debate as to which bird should be called the protector of humankind. The turkey felt she deserved the title since she laid the largest clutch of eggs. However, the woodpecker's cautious ways won the argument since she kept her young safely nestled inside the tall tree trunks. Although the woodpecker laid fewer eggs, the survival rate of her young was greater than that of the turkey's because she taught them so well that they were certain to live to old age.
Greeco-Roman mythology contains a few stories about gods who were changed into woodpeckers. Circe turned Picus, the Roman god of agriculture and manure, into one because he rejected her. Since Picus was famous for his divination skills, this bird became a symbol of prophecy. In Greece, Celeus was changed into a green woodpecker for attempting to steal honey from the baby Zeus.
The woodpecker was associated with ploughing and agriculture because it appeared to use its beak to plow for insects. This bird was called the "Axe of Ishtar." (Ishtar was the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, and war. Her lovers tended to come to an evil end but the only death she regretted was that of her brother-husband, Tammuz. A fertility-agriculture cult grew up around the death, resurrection, and marriage of Tammuz and became so popular that Jewish women wept for Tammuz at the gates of the temple in Jerusalem. The woodpecker was sacred to Mars and fed his young sons, Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, as they hid in a cave.
According to a Lakota legend, the red-headed woodpecker taught a poor young suitor how to make and play the first flute. The suitor was then able to win the respect of his tribe and the hand of the chief's beautiful daughter. That is why their flutes are made to resemble this bird.
In Christian tradition, the damage done to wood by this bird makes it a symbol of Satan and heresy which weakens the human soul just as the woodpecker hollows or weakens the tree he pecks at. One legend states that when God called upon the birds to help Him dig rivers, lakes, and seas into the face of the earth, the woodpecker refused to join in. Because of this, it was forbidden to drink anything but rain and sentenced to peck wood.
This bird is a fertility symbol. It is considered a guardian of the trees, a traveler's guide, and a lucky omen. Its nest-holes are symbolic of security, protection, and a return to the womb.
Monday, March 5, 2012
The World of the Redheaded Woodpecker
Since you all have gotten an idea now of what bird I am describing, now I am going to tell you a little bit about how the Red Headed Woodpecker interacts with its environment, where it lives, what it eats, how it mates, and what its habitat is like.
Let's first talk about the habitat of the woodpecker. The Red-Headed Woodpecker breeds in deciduous woodlands, especially breech or oak, river bottoms, open woods, groves of dead and dying trees, orchards, parks, open country with scattered trees, forest edges, and open wooded swamps with dead trees and stumps. The deciduous woodlands include trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. These leaves form a carpet on the ground beneath the trees and eventually rot down to form a type of natural compost full of nutrients. The soils of the deciduous woodlands and forests include the brown earth. These soils are reasonably fertile with mildly acidic soil.
There are two types of deciduous forests/woodlands: Temperate deciduous forest and Tropical and subtropical deciduous forest. The Temperate Deciduous Forest have plant communities distributed in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. They have formed under climatic conditions which have great seasonable temperature variability with growth occurring during warm summers and leaf drop in autumn and dormancy during cold winters. The Tropical and Subtropical Deciduous Forest is developed to seasonal rainfall patterns. Sometimes, there is quite a drought and the rainfall effects the growth of the plants.
Most Redheaded Woodpeckers are omnivorous. This means they eat a mixture of both plants and animals. They mostly eat beech and oak mast, seeds, nuts, berries, fruit, insects, bird eggs, nestlings and mice. Two-thirds of the bird's diet are plants however. In order to hunt their food, they are flycatchers. They fly to catch insects in the air or on the ground, forage on trees or gather and store nuts. The Red-Headed Woodpecker is one of only four woodpeckers known to store food with wood or bark. They are also known to remove the eggs of other species from nests and even enter duck-nesting boxes and puncture duck eggs. They do not really have predators, but the can fall victim to certain things. They can fall victim to cats, Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawks, raccoons that may raid the nest, or snakes.
When nesting, they nest in a cavity in a dead tree, utility pole, or a dead part of a tree that is between 8 and 80 feet above the ground. They also nest in fence posts, open sheds, bird houses, and old wagon wheels. Females lay 4 to 7 eggs in early May which are incubated for two weeks. Both sexes participate in the incubation period. The male starts to drill another hole as it gets ready to raise the next brood while the young from the first brood are still being raised by the female. They are monogamous, staying true to their chosen mate for the entire breeding season.
The Red-Headed Woodpecker is a vulnerable species in Canada and is a threatened species in some states in the United States. These States include all of the Inland South Region: Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, southern Missouri, Northern Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, and East Texas. The species has declined in numbers due to habitat loss caused by harvesting of snags, a decline in farming resulting to regeneration of eastern forests, monoculture crops, the loss of small orchards, and treatment of telephone poles with creosote.
Let's first talk about the habitat of the woodpecker. The Red-Headed Woodpecker breeds in deciduous woodlands, especially breech or oak, river bottoms, open woods, groves of dead and dying trees, orchards, parks, open country with scattered trees, forest edges, and open wooded swamps with dead trees and stumps. The deciduous woodlands include trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. These leaves form a carpet on the ground beneath the trees and eventually rot down to form a type of natural compost full of nutrients. The soils of the deciduous woodlands and forests include the brown earth. These soils are reasonably fertile with mildly acidic soil.
There are two types of deciduous forests/woodlands: Temperate deciduous forest and Tropical and subtropical deciduous forest. The Temperate Deciduous Forest have plant communities distributed in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. They have formed under climatic conditions which have great seasonable temperature variability with growth occurring during warm summers and leaf drop in autumn and dormancy during cold winters. The Tropical and Subtropical Deciduous Forest is developed to seasonal rainfall patterns. Sometimes, there is quite a drought and the rainfall effects the growth of the plants.
Most Redheaded Woodpeckers are omnivorous. This means they eat a mixture of both plants and animals. They mostly eat beech and oak mast, seeds, nuts, berries, fruit, insects, bird eggs, nestlings and mice. Two-thirds of the bird's diet are plants however. In order to hunt their food, they are flycatchers. They fly to catch insects in the air or on the ground, forage on trees or gather and store nuts. The Red-Headed Woodpecker is one of only four woodpeckers known to store food with wood or bark. They are also known to remove the eggs of other species from nests and even enter duck-nesting boxes and puncture duck eggs. They do not really have predators, but the can fall victim to certain things. They can fall victim to cats, Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawks, raccoons that may raid the nest, or snakes.
When nesting, they nest in a cavity in a dead tree, utility pole, or a dead part of a tree that is between 8 and 80 feet above the ground. They also nest in fence posts, open sheds, bird houses, and old wagon wheels. Females lay 4 to 7 eggs in early May which are incubated for two weeks. Both sexes participate in the incubation period. The male starts to drill another hole as it gets ready to raise the next brood while the young from the first brood are still being raised by the female. They are monogamous, staying true to their chosen mate for the entire breeding season.
The Red-Headed Woodpecker is a vulnerable species in Canada and is a threatened species in some states in the United States. These States include all of the Inland South Region: Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, southern Missouri, Northern Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, and East Texas. The species has declined in numbers due to habitat loss caused by harvesting of snags, a decline in farming resulting to regeneration of eastern forests, monoculture crops, the loss of small orchards, and treatment of telephone poles with creosote.
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