Thursday, March 22, 2012

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.



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