I believe Regina is correct in her observation about water not being a
necessity for Red-headed Woodpeckers. In Northeast Ohio they are closely
tied to wooded swamp and moist woodlands with Red Oaks as the predominate
tree species. The woodpecker's abundance depends on the success of the acorn
crop. In good years they will reside in these woodlands all winter and nest
there the following spring. They can be common in Trumbull County following
a good acorn crop and absent for a year following a poor crop. As elsewhere,
they do inhabit marshy areas with standing dead trees. I have seen them
utilizing these areas much like flycatchers do- and Red-headeds are
surprisingly good at "flycatching", even catching large dragonflies in
flight.

Dave Hochadel

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Regina
Schieltz
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 10:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Red-headed Woodpecker observation

My observations in Darke County tell me that there are more Red-headed
Woodpeckers than I always thought.  I find them in woods were there are dead
trees not necessarily around water.   Many places where they have been easy
to find like along lakes, etc. have had trees that have died due to wetlands
being created and water levels raised in lakes.   I wonder if they really
need to be along water or just need the trees to have the right deadness?
I often see them flying from a woods across a county road to feed in a corn
field.  In fact, two years ago, we found one dead along the road where we
had seen one flying from the neighbor's woods across the road to our corn
field.  We figured it had been hit by a vehicle.

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