Red-cockaded Woodpeckers pass an important milestone

RCW Cavity in Pine TreeThe 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

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