I got a lot of unexpected mail in which readers of this list noticed the
large numbers of red-headed woodpeckers. I kind of expected folks would
notice the heavyweights involved as counters. Anyway, as an explanation
for such woodpecker numbers--pretty much across Ohio in those days--here
is my account of the RHWP in my book on central Ohio birds...BW
Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus*. In Wheaton’s day
and for decades thereafter this savanna-dweller was called far and away
the county’s (and western Ohio’s) most abundant woodpecker, though often
persecuted as a presumed agricultural pest. Later, Hicks (1935a:157)
reported it continued to breed in every county in the state, pointing
however to its decline versus other woodpecker species, and suggesting
its abundance had perhaps been overestimated because it frequented areas
near highways. With time, competition from introduced birds for nest
cavities, increased removal of dead and decaying trees, creosote
treatment of utility poles, and its warm-weather habits conducive to
mortality via vehicles have taken their toll, and it is now scarce,
especially as a nester, in the area. Trautman (2006:222) counted as
many as 40 a day found as traffic roadkills during Ohio surveys during
the ‘20s and ‘30s. Families prefer open woodlots with mature nut trees.
Research in the region suggests these beleaguered birds may at times
benefit from exotic suburban settings such as golf courses (Rodewald et
al. 2005). In the warm months it is largely insectivorous, and Jasper
(1873:2) wrote long ago that “[t]he girdled, or deadened timber, common
among cornfields, is his favorite retreat, whence he sallies out to make
his depredations.” Back in the days before dynamite was readily
available, farmers were often content to let skeletal trees stand.
Variable numbers of wintering birds, however, are closely related to the
mast crop, and thus fluctuate periodically, though falling noticeably
overall in recent decades. Trautman (1945, 1952) over ten years of
winter surveys at Buckeye Lake, found 187 in five odd-numbered years and
only one in the five even-numbered ones, likely due to biennial peak
productions of nuts of local beech trees; he attributed their steadily
falling overall numbers to habitat losses. The Columbus CBC of 1956
tallied 117, but all counts since 1965 have been in the single digits.
Interestingly, the count of 1/2/1966 recorded none at all, while only 25
miles distant and but a week earlier the Buckeye Lake count had found
105 (WCB Vol 11, September 1966:39). Among migrants, movements—fewer
than in days gone by—arrive in May and depart in September for the most
part. Small and shrinking populations at county parks persist, aided in
part by dead and dying trees allowed to stand, as well as living oaks
and hickories. Specimen 6/3/1875 OSUM #843.
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