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Red-headed Woodpecker "invasion"?



Yesterday, I was working in Howell Woods along the Neuse River in
Johnston Co. This is a fine bottomland area that I have worked in four
or five times this year while conducting the Johnston Co. natural area
inventory.

Red-headed Woodpecker was just about the most common bird! I was
constantly within hearing distance of at least one. All that I saw were
immatures. Though a handful were here during the summer, it is obvious
that most of these birds are fall migrants, and there is an excellent
acorn crop at Howell Woods. We shall see if this is a banner winter for
the woodpecker.

On a negative side, I had no Ruby-crowned Kinglets, even though I was in
good habitat, with plenty of Golden-crowneds, even though the area is
mostly hardwoods and is better habitat for Ruby. Rubies have been
relatively scarce in the Triangle this fall, which is what I predicted
last spring, as Rubies apparently were hit hard in our area by the 20
inch snow that lingered for several weeks. (I presume that RCK have site
fidelity in winter and return to winter where they spent the previous
winter.)  I expect considerably lower numbers of RCK on CBC's this
winter at sites where the snow and deep freeze lasted for several weeks.
(This does not apply to parts of SC and other places that didn't have
the heavy snows, etc.).

--
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net