eNews
Spring 2015 | Vol 8 | No 2
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers pass an important milestone
The reintroduction of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers passed yet another important milestone this Spring. A young male woodpecker has excavated a natural cavity in an area approximately 300 meters from the nearest group of artificial cavities. This type of territorial budding is rarely observed, but it’s a clear indication of natural population growth and expansion following the initial release of woodpeckers on Tall Timbers in 2006. The new cavity has been excavated in a short-leaf pine in the northwest section of the property. Appropriately, it’s in an area where we’ve been planning to excavate a few artificial cavities to help the population expand, which indicates that woodpeckers and woodpecker biologists can see eye to eye. As a result, Tall Timbers now supports 10 potential breeding groups and has the potential to add one or two more breeding groups before the property will be saturated. Here are the other important milestones that have occurred during reintroduction.
Event |
Year |
First successful nest |
2007 |
First helper at nest |
2008 |
First natural cavity excavated |
2009 |
First locally produced breeder |
2010 |
First immigrant female |
2010 |
First immigrant male |
2011 |
60% occupancy achieved |
2011 |
First locally produced breeding pair |
2011 |
First double brooded territory |
2011 |