Thanks for the enlightening writeup Jerry ! Awesome work !!
On Sat, Apr 27, 2024 at 8:00 PM <jwdavis...> wrote:
> An additional note on the Red-headed Woodpeckers. Growing up in East Texas
> there were not enough snags for the woodpeckers and because the power poles
> were like snags with no bark, the Red-headed woodpecker built their nesting
> holes in power poles. My dad called them his “fence builders” because when
> the Texas Power and Light replaced the poles, he could buy the damaged
> poles for his fence corner posts. Many people remember Woody Woodpecker
> which was a Red-headed woodpecker. When I was the Forest Wildlife
> Biologist on the Kaibab National Forest, the Forest Service in the west cut
> down all of the snags calling them lightning rods and they feared they
> would start of Forest Fires. We had 64 species of birds and mammal on the
> Forest that needed snags for nesting. In some areas of the Forest, there
> were less than two snags per 640 acres rather than the 2.7 snags per acre
> that we needed. One night I saw the Channel 2 News in Phoenix interviewing
> Walt Lance as he was passing through Sky Harbor airport. I thought that he
> could do more in a few days for snag management than I could do in a
> wildlife career so I wrote him a letter and explained the importance of
> snags for 85 species of birds and 49 species of mammals. He replied and
> said that he used to have a snag in his back yard and woodpeckers and when
> the snag was gone he never understood why the woodpeckers were gone and
> never made the connection. A long story short, he drew a Woody Woodpecker
> Graphic saying Do Not Cut, I Live Here and in addition, he used his studios
> to make video and audio spots for TV and Radio. I held a Snag Habitat
> Management Symposium in Flagstaff, Arizona with 200 + pages of research on
> snag habitat and wildlife use. The proceeding went into a second printing
> and was distributed to every state and 76 foreign countries.
>
> Today too many people do not understand the value of snags and the
> connection of primary and secondary cavity nesters, nor that if you have a
> snag in your yard bird species diversity increases by 37%. We have
> manicured yards and sanitized forest. It can take 100 years to get a tree
> big enough for Pileated woodpeckers 20 inches DBH and it takes fungi and
> heart rot 40 years to decay the inner trunk to have cavities. “Snags Are
> For Wildlife” was my paper at that Symposium.
>
> Jerry Wayne Davis
> Hot Springs, AR
>
>
>
> *From:* Hrishikesh More
> *Sent:* Saturday, April 27, 2024 6:38 PM
> *To:* <jwdavis...> ; Judy Griffith
> *Cc:* <ARBIRD-L...>
> *Subject:* Re: Red-headed Woodpecker!
>
> Thanks for the info Judy and Jerry.
> Out of curiosity, looked up this page:
> https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-headed_Woodpecker/lifehistory >
>
>> During the start of the breeding season they move from forest interiors
>> to forest edges or disturbed areas. Wherever they breed, dead (or partially
>> dead) trees for nest cavities are an important part of their habitat. In
>> the northern part of their winter range, they live in mature stands of
>> forest, especially oak, oak-hickory, maple, ash, and beech. In the southern
>> part, they live in pine and pine-oak. They are somewhat nomadic; in a given
>> location they can be common one year and absent the next.
>>
>
> - This explains their 'periodic' springtime visit to the backyard !
> - My neighbour (a few lots northside) has a big barkless dead tree, and
> that explains Jerry's point as well. I hope whoever purchases that property
> (currently on sale) does not cut it down. 🤞
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 27, 2024 at 4:55 PM Jerry Davis <jwdavis...> wrote:
>
>> Red-headed Woodpeckers prefer snags without Bark which is more difficult
>> for rat snakes to climb. I have two nesting pair that come for suet and
>> Black oil Sunflower seeds. If a Red-bellied WP is on the suet, they run
>> it off.
>>
>> Jerry Wayne Davis
>> Hot Springs, AR
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2024-04-27 4:22 pm, Judy Griffith wrote:
>> > Numerous native Shortleaf Pines that died in the drought of 2011- 2013
>> > surprisingly and wonderfully became homes to Red-headed Woodpeckers!
>> > The beautiful birds also came to our suet feeders where we thrilled in
>> > their beauty, and they raised many young here before leaving every
>> > autumn. Over the years those cavity trees have finally fallen over but
>> > there are still more in the surrounding woods.
>> > The birds are indeed spectacular to see with their brilliant colors!
>> > Thank you, Hrishikesh.
>> >
>> > J
>> >
>> >> On Apr 27, 2024, at 3:48 PM, Hrishikesh More
>> >> <hrishikesh.r.more...> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> We have one visiting for the last few days (April 25 2:40 pm
>> >> onwards) on suet feeders.
>> >> I am not sure if they have a very large range or not, this male is
>> >> not seen year round. Last year also during spring time this male
>> >> visited for 4 weeks (almost daily) then no show.
>> >>
>> >> However, whenever he visits, it is an absolute joy to watch such a
>> >> brilliantly colored bird. I just wish he stays around for the whole
>> >> year as the range indicates (in Sibley).
>> >>
>> >> regards,
>> >> Hrishikesh
>> >> Bella Vista
>> >>
>> >> On Sat, Apr 27, 2024 at 10:11 AM Judy Griffith
>> >> <9waterfall9...> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Saw one beauty for the first time yesterday since they departed
>> >>> last fall.
>> >>>
>> >>> Judith
>> >>> Ninestone, Carroll County
>> >>>
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