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tornadoes and woodpecker in Moore county



I was listening to WRAL (101.5) 6:00 o'clock news in my car on my way home
from my daughter's swimming class yesterday to hear the lead story about the
tornadoes in Moore County.  Much to my surprise the lead story included a
reporter live from Pinehurst at a house that had been damaged and a pine
tree had fallen into the home's attic.  The reporter went on to describe the
diamond sign that marked the fallen pine tree as a red-cockaded woodpecker
(RCW) tree and described how the tree had fallen into the attic of the home
and the owners found a woodpecker in their attic.  As soon as I got home I
checked my office for any messages related to the downed pine tree or the
woodpecker but didn't have any.  When I checked my home answering machine,
my Veterinarian had called and left me the name and number of the Pinehurst
resident with the woodpecker in their attic (they had called him because
they thought that the bird was injured).

Turns out the woodpecker is likely a juvenile red-bellied that was about to
fledge.  The Pinehurst folks told me they were amateur birders and wanted to
do anything to help this little guy.  I put them in touch with a
rehabilitator in Fayetteville and expect to get an update next week on the
bird's condition.

Susan Ladd Miller
Safe Harbor Biologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 119
Southern Pines, NC  28388
(910) 695-3323