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. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.851 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3024 - Release Date: 07/23/10 14:36:00 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]