We have very few dead snags in standing water in northern Licking and
southern Knox counties, but we do have a lot of snags, and a lot of
red-headed woodpeckers.  The most important element is clearly the snags;
perhaps the birds were associated with water because standing water and
wetlands often have snags.  I'm no expert on that question.  I only know
what I see, and I see a lot of red-headed woodpeckers.

Margaret Bowman
Licking Co., OH
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Red-headed Woodpecker observation


>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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