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Flights of Wonder

~ A year of birding adventures

Flights of Wonder

Tag Archives: Red-Headed Woodpecker

Our Disappearing Birds: The Red-Headed Woodpecker

21 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by judysbirds in Essays on Nature and the Environment, Nature Observations

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Sky Meadows State Park

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 002

The Red-Headed Woodpecker, a checkerboard-patterned woodpecker, was once so common in the central to eastern United States that orchard owners and farmers paid bounties on them. According to allaboutbirds.org, in 1840 Audubon once reported that 100 of these stunning birds were shot from a single cherry tree in a single day.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 014

Though they continued to be abundant to common through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the loss of nut-producing trees and the decline of mature forests with dead snags led to significant declines in their numbers. Scientists estimate that their population has declined over 70% since 1966. This decline has accelerated in recent years. Partners in Flights estimates a loss from 2,500,000 birds in 2004 to 1,200,00 birds in 2012.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 017 #2

Now the Red-Headed Woodpecker is uncommon and local in many areas of its historical range. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identifies the Red-Headed Woodpecker on its Red List as Near Threatened. Currently, Partners in Flight lists them as a common bird in serious decline and they are included in the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List that identifies birds most in danger of extinction without serious conservation efforts.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 022

It is a rare treat to see Red-Heads in many areas of the Mid-Atlantic States, but they tend to congregate in colonies and fortunately, there is one such colony that calls a grove of mature oak trees in a state park in Virginia that was once a plantation home. It is not unusual to see ten or more Red-Heads at a single time sitting along the edge of this grove of trees.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 118

Red-Heads are unusual woodpeckers for several reasons. They are skilled at catching insects on the fly, spotting them from a perch on a snag, branch or fencepost. They also cache food by wedging it in cracks, crevices, or even their own woodpecker holes. They store live grasshoppers by wedging them so tightly in crevices in tree bark that the grasshopper cannot escape. They also cover their caches with bark or wood pieces.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 084

What can be done to help the Red-Headed Woodpeckers? Audubon.org identifies the following best management practices to support this species:

* Focus on the creation and maintenance of groves of trees with multiple dead snags needed for roosting and foraging.

* Prescribed burning and understory thinning to create the open forest stands that Red-Heads prefer, presumably for increased fly-catching opportunities.

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 108

Sources of information for this post:

http://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/final_red-headed_woodpecker_conservation_plan_10-31-2014.pdf

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-headed_Woodpecker/lifehistory

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-headed-woodpecker

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bfl/speciesaccts/rehwoo.html

“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence.” ~Robert Lynd

20 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

American Robin, birding, Birds, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Red-Headed Woodpecker

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 086

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 122

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 124

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 128

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 162

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 172 07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 178

Juvenile Red-Headed Woodpecker

25 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Shenandoah River State Park

07 24 14 Shenandoah River Park II 080

I was amazed at the number of Red-Headed Woodpeckers in the woods around the cabins in which we stayed at Shenandoah River State Park. Their raspy screeches echoed through the forest from sun-up to sundown. I saw as many as six at one time – two juveniles and four adults – but there were many more. It was just almost impossible to take an accurate count, as they chased each other and darted about high in the canopy. But one evening, a juvenile flew to a nearby tree to forage under the tree bark. The juvenile Red-Head doesn’t have a red head, by the way. Tomorrow I’ll post about all the adults that were flying about!

Red-Headed Woodpecker

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Sky Meadows State Park

06 29 14 Kerrith 003

I had the great joy of stopping at Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia and watched at least a dozen Red-Headed Woodpeckers hunting for grasshoppers in the fields adjacent the grove of oak trees in which they are nesting. They would sit perched on the farm fences, waiting for some poor, unassuming grasshopper to flit by. They would then dart out, snatch the unsuspecting insect, hover in place for a moment, and then return to their perch on the fence to dine on their snack.

06 29 14 Kerrith 013

It is estimated that Red-Headed Woodpecker populations have declined by over 70% since 1966. The declines are attributed to habitat loss and to changes and declines in their food sources (for example American Chestnuts were once a primary food source for the Red-Headed Woodpecker).

Red-Headed Woodpecker

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Sky Meadows State Park

04 27 14 Kerrith 153

Driving home from a long weekend spent in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, I stopped at Sky Meadow State Park. I was hoping to see a Red-Headed Woodpecker. The rangers let me know that until last summer, a particular grove of trees was home to the largest population of Red-Headed Woodpeckers on the East Coast. Then, last summer, the acorn crop in that particular grove of trees failed. As the summer wore on, they saw fewer and fewer of the birds. No one had seen a Red-Headed Woodpecker there all winter. They anticipated the woodpeckers returning with the spring, but no one had seen them yet. Still I walked through the grove of trees. I saw Northern Flickers and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, but no Red-Heads. Finally, I walked back to the parking lot and got in my car to drive home. As I drove out of the park, I gave a final glance at the grove of trees, and there, on a fence post adjacent to the grove, sat a Red-Headed Woodpecker. Another Red-Head was flying from tree to tree in the grove. Needless to say, I was more than happy to drive back to the ranger’s station to report that the Red-Heads are back!!

04 27 14 Kerrith 160

04 27 14 Kerrith 155

Bird Photographs

Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Green Heron.
Green Heron.
Piping Plover
Piping Plover
This is when I first started adjusting the lens speed and ISO setting. As a result, the Little Blue Heron just seemed to jump from the marsh grass.
This is when I first started adjusting the lens speed and ISO setting. As a result, the Little Blue Heron just seemed to jump from the marsh grass.
Summer Tanager, Female
Summer Tanager, Female
Common Grackle
Common Grackle
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Great & Snowy Egret
Great & Snowy Egret
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 016
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Fledgling Wood Thrush
Fledgling Wood Thrush
11 28 13 Davidsonville Park 019
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
Clapper Rail
Clapper Rail
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl
Sanderling
Sanderling
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
07 06 15 Bombay 060
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 040
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Brant Goose
Brant Goose
White-Eyed Vireo
White-Eyed Vireo
07 17 15 Hummingbird 216
Dark-Eyed Junco
Dark-Eyed Junco
This Prothonotary Warbler photo just seems well composed to me, plus I just love these beautiful little birds.
This Prothonotary Warbler photo just seems well composed to me, plus I just love these beautiful little birds.
04 19 15 Great Horned Owlet 061
Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
Female Northern Cardinal
Female Northern Cardinal
Longtail Duck
Longtail Duck
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
06 28 15 110
Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Baby Great Horned Owl
Baby Great Horned Owl
Common Loon
Common Loon
Female Orchard Oriole
Female Orchard Oriole
Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting
American Bittern
American Bittern
Rough-Winged Swallow
Rough-Winged Swallow
Merlin
Merlin
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
Lady Bufflehead
Lady Bufflehead
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
It's not a great photo, but it's such a great bird!
It’s not a great photo, but it’s such a great bird!
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Bald Eagle at sunset
Bald Eagle at sunset
Black Skimmer
Black Skimmer
This Cooper's Hawk was so hungry. He just wouldn't leave his dinner for anything!
This Cooper’s Hawk was so hungry. He just wouldn’t leave his dinner for anything!
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Redhead Duck
Redhead Duck
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Northern Cardinal in the winter
Northern Cardinal in the winter
Surf Scoter
Surf Scoter
Short-Eared Owl
Short-Eared Owl
American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers
Male Longtail
Male Longtail
Juvenile Indigo Bunting
Juvenile Indigo Bunting
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson’s Snipe
Juvenile White Ibis
Juvenile White Ibis
It was SO cold this day. The Hermit Thrush fluffed his feathers as much as he could to stay warm.
It was SO cold this day. The Hermit Thrush fluffed his feathers as much as he could to stay warm.
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Avocets in Flight
Avocets in Flight
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
Snow Geese
Snow Geese
07 11 15 Osprey 056
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk
Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk
12 30 14 Kinder Farm Park 297 #2
Marsh Wren
Marsh Wren
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.

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