Red-headed Woodpecker

At World Bird Sanctuary, we recently received a Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) that is non releasable.  After keeping an eye on it (we don't know if it is a male or female) throughout a particular day, I realized that I know almost nothing about woodpeckers.  So, I decided that it was time for me to learn.  

Red-headed Woodpecker (wikipedia.org)

As adults, Red-headed Woodpeckers have bright red heads, black backs, white chests and black wings with large white patches.  This gives them the nickname of the flying checkerboard.  So naturally we named ours "Checkers".  Red-headed Woodpeckers have been around for a very long time.  In fact, in Florida, Virginia and Illinois, Red-headed woodpecker fossils have been found.  Some of them even dated to about 2 million years old!  They can be found all over the eastern United States,  ranging from Montana down to New Mexico, and from Florida up to New Hampshire.  However, the further north you go, the less common they are.  

They live in deciduous woodlands and nest in old dying trees.  Red-headed woodpeckers are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals.  Most of their diet contains different nuts and fruits (Checkers seems to enjoy grapes and peanuts the most).  They will often find insects to eat also.  Ranging from flies to grasshoppers to cicadas, they will eat practically any insect they can find.  And they are very effective at catching them in midair, too.  Rarely they will even eat smaller birds and mice.  

The Red-headed Woodpecker is one of only 4 woodpecker species in the United States that will cache, or save and hide, their food.  This is in case they need the backup food supply.  Commonly they will store live grasshoppers in cracks in trees.  They will wedge the grasshoppers in so tightly that it cannot escape.  These woodpeckers have even been known to store food underneath shingles on peoples' roofs. 

The Red-headed Woodpecker's conservation status is Near Threatened.  This means that if current trends of decline continue, they will likely become endangered.  According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, their populations have declined around 2.9% every year, starting around 1966.  In the mid 1840's Red-headed Woodpeckers were so common that some farmers and orchard owners actually paid bounties for them.  Beech forests and chestnut trees are far less common today, which is a major cause in the decline of their populations.  

One way to help out the Red-headed Woodpecker is to make sure that if you have any old dying trees on your property, don't cut them down.  Those are prime foraging and nesting real estate for these beautiful birds.

Submitted by Mike Cerrutti, Trainer.

Why Is Bird Conservation Important?

Part of our mission at the World Bird Sanctuary is to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. 

These Barn Owl babies were part of World Bird Sanctuary's Barn Owl release program 

Currently, the sanctuary is breeding and releasing barn owls, a rare resident in Missouri.  It is a “species of conservation concern in Missouri,” according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.  Here we’ll take a look at why bird conservation is critical in our world.

Bird conservation is important in maintaining the diversity of the planet.  Birds are one of the most numerous creatures on the planet and they all have evolved amazing physical and behavioral adaptations.  We, too, must learn to adapt our own behaviors to live in our world, rather than forcing it into an artificial and unsustainable one.

 The above is just a small example of the amazing diversity among birds of the world

Wild birds are a vital part of the ecosystem and provide many key services.  They help control rodent populations.  For example barn owls can eat 2,000 mice in one year. 

Birds also help control insect populations.  They are advanced, extremely efficient, highly motivated, insect pest controllers.  For all of the strategies insects have evolved to evade predation, they still encounter many species of birds that are highly adapted, perfect insect-eaters.  Birds can shift their foraging locations and foraging behavior in response to an insect outbreak.  For example, when a large amount of insects are located in the canopy of trees, many ground or shrub-dwelling birds may go up into the canopy to forage.  Similarly, during an eruption of flighted insects, birds that usually eat by plucking caterpillars off leaves may instead fly after the insects and capture them in mid-air.  Birds not only help lower the current insect pest populations but they also help minimize future outbreaks.  The amount of money this saves us is beyond our imagination. 

Birds also help greatly with seed dispersal, and increase forest growth and conservation.  Additionallty, they are an important part of ecosystems in that they can function as food for other predators.  By studying all of the interactions birds have with the ecosystem, we can better understand how these relationships can affect humans.

Birds can teach us appreciation of natural diversity.  All birds have unique behaviors and personalities and the more we watch and observe them, the more we’ll grow to appreciate all of nature. 

 This Burrowing Owl has adapted to a treeless environment by using Prairie Dog mounds as a hunting perch

Awareness about bird conservation can promote awareness of other environmental issues.  For example, a species may be declining due to polluted water.  That awareness can lead to action taken to fight water contamination, which will in turn help other species of wildlife as well.  Putting out non-secondary rodent poison to get rid of rodents will help stop secondary poisoning of barn owls and other predators.

Birds can educate us on numerous things.  By observing birds in flight, aeronautical engineers have designed more efficient airplanes.  Climatologists who study birds’ migration patterns can gather insight on seasonal climate changes by noting behavioral changes in their subjects.  Psychologists use birds’ courtship rituals and community interactions to better understand complex group dynamics.  We must continue to conserve birds if we want to continue learning from them. 

Birds are important in maintaining the Earth’s biological diversity, providing services to the ecosystem, teaching us appreciation of nature, raising awareness of environmental issues and educating us in many facets of life. 

Bird conservation will always continue to be a vital part of the World Bird Sanctuary’s mission.  It can be yours, too!  Some easy ways you can help save birds include: keeping your cat indoors, build a brush pile for shelter, put out bird feeders, bird baths and bird houses, pick up litter and properly dispose of oil.   

Submitted by Sara Oliver, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist