I don't think that RHWP are birds of wetlands by choice.  Most of the older literature and observations (such as in Bent's _Life Histories of N.American Woodpeckers_) make them out to be birds of 'open county': oak savannahs, pastures with trees, old orchards, partly-burned open forest areas.  I think that their twin fondnesses of mast-eating and flycatching lead them to prefer open areas with oaks/fruit trees. These types of areas are much less common now, except for where they are managed for (as in Oak Openings or some of the Illinois Oak savannah preserves), so the remaining birds outside of these managed areas have been forced into less favorable habitats.  Now they nest where they can find lots of snags (recently-flooded wetlands) and winter where they can find lots of mast nuts (beech forests or red oak swamps). These habitats may not be near each other, so the birds have to make short-distance 'migrations' between them.  Even the Hoover birds mostly leave their breeding areas unless lots of oaks are nearby (as in Hoover Meadows).  

Rob

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