Contributed
Members of the Seven Lakes Garden Club gained insight into the life and habitat of the red-cockaded woodpecker from Gabriela Garrison, Habitat Conservation Coordinator with the NC Wildlife Resource Commission at their March meeting.
Garrison has a long history of researching, tracking, banding and learning about this small, elusive member of the Leuconotopicus (white-backed woodpecker) genus. She shared the fascinating story of the little bird.
Unlike its local cousins, the RCW — the easy way to refer to the bird without using 21 letters — is small, about the size of a bluebird. It is not showy.
The male has a couple of red feathers on the cheek area that you usually only see if the bird is upset. The female has no red feathers.
The RCW forgoes the seeds and suet at your feeders, preferring to nosh on insects and the occasional berry.
They have a very specific habitat requirement: old Longleaf pine trees and wide-open spaces. They require a 200-plus acre area for breeding and foraging. The 70,000 acres of the Sandhills Game Lands, managed by the Wildlife Resource Commission, is home.
The RCW was upgraded four years ago from federally endangered to federally threatened. The concern for the bird has not changed.
When a tree is identified as a RCW cavity tree, it is protected. Protected trees are designated with diamond signs and white bands around the trunk.
These small birds create their home in the tree by pecking out a cavity. A very small opening leads to living quarters deep in the tree.
The birds choose Longleaf pines because they are sappy. Sap is critical to the RCW. They maintain a flow of sap all around the cavity. The sap keeps them safe from predators. It can take up to 12 years for a cavity to be formed.
They work on a new tree cavity slowly while they live in a cavity nearby. Since having a cavity is critical, a cavity insert was developed to expand the availability of homes for RCW.
The birds are cooperative breeders with a male hierarchy system. When fledglings leave their nest after 28 days in the cavity, the males hang around and become helpers for next year’s hatch. The females find their own home.
Lots of work goes into managing RCWs to assure population growth. Tracking the population is critical to understanding the bird. The cavity
is a long-term home, once identified it is monitored. In the six to ten days before feathering, infants are carefully removed from the cavity and banded for identification and tracking.
Trusting the on-going work of the scientists who study, track, and support these unique little birds will allow the RCW population to grow and thrive in the Sandhills.
