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Nest boxes bring red-cockaded woodpeckers to
March 21, 2008 Installing nest boxes for red-cockaded woodpeckers is not a job for someone afraid of heights, because the process begins by climbing 20 feet into a pine tree. But Ralph Holton, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), made the job look easy when he installed another red-cockaded woodpecker nest box in the Osceola National Forest recently. Holton stalled the process for a moment when he heard a bird calling out nearby. “They’re really curious,” Holton said. “As soon as we leave, the woodpeckers will be over here, checking out the new nest box.” Larry Wood, a contractor working with Holton, performed ground support duties for the installations. He had already fulfilled his contract for 75 nest boxes but volunteered to install an additional 25 with Holton. Wood also builds the boxes, which resemble a mutant loudspeaker. “The wire on the front of the box keeps pileated woodpeckers from enlarging the entrance and taking over the nest for themselves. The white PVC pipe lining the entrance keeps out red-bellied woodpeckers,” Wood said. “We can’t keep out everything because flying squirrels can still take over a nest, but this gives the smaller red-cockaded woodpeckers a fighting chance against the other woodpeckers.” To begin the installation, Holton first chose the tree, which must have a diameter of at least 14 inches. He then scaled the tree, encased in safety harnesses and equipment. “The higher, the better,” Wood said. “When we have a burn come through, either controlled or wildfire, the nests are better off if they’re high in the trees.” Once secure at about 20 feet, Holton scraped off the bark of the pine. He made small holes in the tree for “sap wells” to begin the flow of pitch around the new nest. Sap covers the area around the nest and will help keep away tree-climbing snakes. |
(Click on photo for larger image.)
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“The installation of a nest box takes 20 to 30 minutes,” Wood said. “However, the first one you do usually takes two hours. It takes a lot of practice to get as good as Ralph. “Some people say we’re creating ‘lazy’ birds by installing these boxes and doing the work for the woodpeckers. These birds will normally carve out a cavity in a mature pine tree, and they are the only southeastern bird that excavates cavities in living pines,” Wood said. “But the trees we have in Osceola simply aren’t old enough. These boxes allow for nesting in young trees that normally wouldn’t be home for these birds.” The birds live in small, family groups, composed of one breeding pair and several helpers. The extra birds usually are males from previous breeding seasons; females rarely stay with their parents. The helpers assist in raising young, including incubation, brooding and feeding. The entire family usually forages as a group, moving together from tree to tree. Red-cockaded woodpeckers feed primarily on ants, beetles, caterpillars, wood-boring insects, spiders, cockroaches and occasionally fruit and berries. In 1810, Alexander Wilson, an English ornithologist, named the bird “red-cockaded woodpecker.” The name confuses people today but was easily understood in the early 1800s. “The American revolutionary army couldn’t afford brass for badges of rank and often substituted a colored feather stuck in the corner of the hat to indicate rank. These feathers were called ‘cockades,’” Holton said. “The male red-cockaded woodpecker has only a few red feathers on the side of his head. And that’s how he got his name.” The bird, federally protected as an endangered species since 1970, is listed as a “species of special concern” in Florida. Habitat destruction attributed to logging, development and aggressive control of forest fires has had an impact on the population decline of red-cockaded woodpeckers. These actions have wiped out most of the South’s longleaf pine forests and put a stop to regular burning necessary to maintain healthy pines. Almost 97 percent of red-cockaded woodpecker habitat has been lost in the past 100 years, according to FWC biologists. Florida hosts approximately 25 percent of the nation’s red-cockaded woodpecker population, with an estimated 1,100 active family groups. Many of Florida’s populations are carefully managed on public lands. “We have approximately 300 red-cockaded woodpeckers in the Osceola National Forest, living in 100 active clusters,” Holton said. “With our help, these birds are making a comeback.” |
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