Red-headed Woodpeckers are doing well further west in NW Ohio, too. I stopped by Goll Woods State Nature Preserve, Fulton County, http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/location/goll_woods/tabid/942/Default.aspx late last summer and found at least six birds among the dead snags prevalent there following severe storms during the past decade. This preserve protects a little remnant of original Great Black Swamp woodland. It's worth a look. The living giants there, white oak, burr oak, cottonwood and so on are a must see. Red-headed Woodpeckers' basic needs are met there; snags for nest holes, hard mast (acorns for their year-round larder), soft mast (native fruits and the like), and insects galore to help their young get a good start--take bug repellant!
Tom Bain
The Central Ohio Clayey till Plain
Delaware County
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Greg Links
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 11:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Red Headed Woodpeckers and Habitat
Here in the Northwest, Red-headed Woodpeckers are common in the (managed) oak savannah habitat of the Oak Openings. They are uncommon, but widespread, elsewhere. Open woodlands (including mature golf courses), woodlots out in farm country, wooded swamps with plenty of dead trees and even mature swamp forest (like at Secor Metropark just west of Toledo) all have their populations.
The history of the Red-headed Woodpecker in NW Ohio over the last 30 years or so (the time I have been birding) is also interesting. I remember as a kid birding in the early 80's, Red-headed Woodpeckers were easy to find (relatively speaking) pretty much across the area. I have journal entries from the Oak Openings area, Maumee State Forest, Crane Creek State Park (as it was known back in the day) and even some neighborhood locations, in all seasons, that reflect its former numbers here. I was fairly oblivious to habitat preference back then, and I certainly wasn't looking for them specifically.
Slowy but ever so surely, they became harder and harder to find and I believe this was probably part of an overall population trend; there just weren't many around. The best place to see Red-headed Woodpeckers became along the lakeshore in migration as nesting birds were much more localized.
I'm not sure when exactly, but at some point they decided to start managing some forest areas in the oak openings for oak savannah. This was a real boon to Red-headed Woodpeckers among other species (Summer Tanager, Eastern Bluebirds) and the comeback began. These management practices didn't come without a price to other species of course, but I'd venture a guess that most have been okay with the trade-offs (unless you are an Ovenbird).
There are more Red-headed Woodpeckers now in NW Ohio than at any other point in my lifetime. And that is not a bad thing.
Greg Links
Somewhere near Toledo
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