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Flights of Wonder

~ A year of birding adventures

Flights of Wonder

Tag Archives: Sky Meadows State Park

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

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).

Remodeling a Summer Home

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Northern Flicker, Sky Meadows State Park

04 27 14 Kerrith 138

While walking through Sky Meadows State Park in search of what had been for me the elusive Red-Headed Woodpecker, I came upon a Northern Flicker excavating a hole in a locust tree for use as his home. They widen a hole to three inches in diameter and thirteen-sixteen inches deep, which they line the floor of the hole with wood chips for their nest. This Flicker would work on the outside ‘door’ for awhile before sticking his head inside the hole to work on the inside hole for a bit, before starting again on the outside of the hole.

04 27 14 Kerrith 133

04 27 14 Kerrith 130

04 27 14 Kerrith 129

04 27 14 Kerrith 136

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

Green Heron.
Green Heron.
Bald Eagle at sunset
Bald Eagle at sunset
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers
11 28 13 Davidsonville Park 019
07 06 15 Bombay 060
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!
Sanderling
Sanderling
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
Piping Plover
Piping Plover
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 016
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting
06 28 15 110
Summer Tanager, Female
Summer Tanager, Female
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!
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
Avocets in Flight
Avocets in Flight
Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk
Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk
Female Orchard Oriole
Female Orchard Oriole
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.
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson’s Snipe
Marsh Wren
Marsh Wren
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Common Loon
Common Loon
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Fledgling Wood Thrush
Fledgling Wood Thrush
American Bittern
American Bittern
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
Juvenile White Ibis
Juvenile White Ibis
Short-Eared Owl
Short-Eared Owl
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
07 17 15 Hummingbird 216
Black Skimmer
Black Skimmer
Redhead Duck
Redhead Duck
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Female Northern Cardinal
Female Northern Cardinal
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great & Snowy Egret
Great & Snowy Egret
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Juvenile Indigo Bunting
Juvenile Indigo Bunting
Brant Goose
Brant Goose
Merlin
Merlin
12 30 14 Kinder Farm Park 297 #2
Rough-Winged Swallow
Rough-Winged Swallow
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Dark-Eyed Junco
Dark-Eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal in the winter
Northern Cardinal in the winter
Surf Scoter
Surf Scoter
Common Grackle
Common Grackle
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
Male Longtail
Male Longtail
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
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.
Baby Great Horned Owl
Baby Great Horned Owl
Clapper Rail
Clapper Rail
Snow Geese
Snow Geese
White-Eyed Vireo
White-Eyed Vireo
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl
Lady Bufflehead
Lady Bufflehead
04 19 15 Great Horned Owlet 061
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 040
Longtail Duck
Longtail Duck
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
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.
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
07 11 15 Osprey 056

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