Photo by Lynda Richardson/ DWR. Photo by Nick Athanas. DWR and partners are optimistic that long-term efforts will eventually help maintain and increase red-cockaded woodpeckers towards a more robust and resilient population. Color: Black-and-white striped head. . It is easy to identify because of its striking, red crest. (2008). A. Males also have a red crown. In order to facilitate the expansion of PGP’s population, the DWR acquired and has been restoring habitat for red-cockaded woodpecker at our neighboring property. They belong to the same genus as the Acorn Woodpecker, and like them, they are known to store food in cracks in trees. Fish and Wildlife Service. U.S. Beginning in 2015, DWR has also assisted USFWS and other partners with red-cockaded woodpecker reintroduction efforts at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GDSNWR). Both species have yellow under wings, explaining the color in the common name. They enjoy open areas with grasses and woodlands, especially oak dominated areas because the consume acorns. This increase marked a major milestone in Virginia’s recovery efforts, as achieving 12–13 groups had been set as one of the long-term goals for PGP in the Virginia Red-cockaded Woodpecker Conservation Plan. Their propensity for nuts also means they are easily enticed to backyard feeders with suet or other healthy nuts such as sunflower seeds. Black bill is long and stout. Red-cockaded woodpeckers were once common in the southeastern U.S. with a range that extended north into New Jersey and largely corresponded to the historic range of pine savanna. Red-headed woodpeckers, on the other hand, have an entire head covered in red feathers. The downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is the smallest North American woodpecker and can be found year-round throughout the continental United States and southern Canada. Color Pattern Pileated Woodpeckers are mostly black with white stripes on the face and neck and a flaming-red crest. Their diet also consists of in season fruit, nuts and insects. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head. The birds also peck tiny holes around their cavities, causing pine resin to flow out and down the tree’s trunk. They also look very similar. Solid white black. Young Red-headed Woodpeckers molt from gray-black heads to all-red heads. (2017). However, habitat restoration on its own is not enough; since it can take red-cockaded woodpeckers several months or longer to excavate a cavity in living pine, installing artificial nest cavities has been vital to enhancing clusters and establishing new groups. Compare the picture of the Hairy with the Downy and the larger bill of the Hairy woodpecker becomes obvious. They are the state’s largest woodpecker, and easily identified by the red crested head and white stripes across the face. Tail is black with white outer tail feathers. Both downy and hairy woodpeckers, lack the large white cheek patch of the red-cockaded woodpecker. Through these conservation efforts, DWR and partners have achieved several notable landmarks in the red-cockaded woodpecker’s recovery. Watts, B. D., F. M. Smith, B. J. Paxton and M. Pavlosky, Jr. (2017). Females lack the red patch of feathers on the head. Red-cockaded woodpeckers, also referred to as RCWs, are relatively small black-and-white woodpeckers with distinctive large, white “cheek patches.” Below their cheek patch, they have a heavy black moustache stripe extending downward on either side of the lower bill. Black wings with white spots. Also in 2017, DWR and TNC biologists discovered a banded male red-cockaded woodpecker with an active cavity on Big Woods WMA. Also in 2017, DWR and TNC biologists discovered a banded male red-cockaded woodpecker with an active cavity on Big Woods WMA. Accessed July 20, 2018 at, http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/uploadedFiles/TFSMain/Manage_Forest_and_Land/Landowner_Assistance/Stewardship(1)/Red-Cockaded_Woodpecker.pdf, Recovery plan for the red-cockaded woodpecker. They migrate to Virginia during the winter months. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta. Example of pine savanna habitat at Piney Grove Preserve. They don’t mind flocking in large groups when food is plentiful. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (, http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Picoides_borealis/, Texas A&M Forest Service. Share your woodpecker pictures and stories with the community. is the only location in Virginia with public access to view red-cockaded woodpeckers. Red-cockaded woodpeckers, also referred to as RCWs, are relatively small black-and-white woodpeckers with distinctive large, white “cheek patches.” Below their cheek patch, they have a heavy black moustache stripe extending downward on either side of the lower bill. Photo by Robert B. Clontz/ The Nature Conservancy. From 2002–2017, the woodpecker’s population at PGP increased from 20 to 84 individuals and the number of groups increased from 2 to 13. Male with small red spot at back of head. Downy Woodpeckers give a checkered black-and-white impression. In the course of the molt, their heads look splotchy (see photo at right), and their wing tips are not yet fully white. The Condor 110(1): 80-92. Identifying them is easier than fining them. Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Picoides borealis. In Virginia, historic records from the early twentieth century document red-cockaded woodpeckers as having ranged as far west as Giles County, as far north as Albemarle County, and throughout the southeastern corner of the state, but by 2002, only 2 breeding pairs remained in the Commonwealth, both at what is now Piney Grove Preserve (PGP) in Sussex County. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series, CCBTR-07-07. and S.R. Restoring the Red-cockaded Woodpecker in Virginia, Endangered Woodpeckers Return to Great Dismal Swamp After 40-Year Absence. This behavior distinguishes them from all other woodpecker species, which build their cavities in dead trees or decaying parts of living trees. The back and top of the male’s head is red. Hairy Woodpecker, All About Birds. Red-cockaded woodpeckers may be preyed upon by rat snakes, eastern screech-owls, American kestrels and hawks. Investigation of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in Virginia: Year 2017 report. White under parts. To help red-cockaded woodpeckers make a comeback in the Commonwealth, the DWR has long supported and contributed to habitat restoration and intensive population management by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary (CCB) at PGP. U.S. (1994). (Picoides borealis): second revision. This also makes them unique amongst all bird species–only 3% of bird species breed in this manner. Males have red stripes across the crown. Although the woodpeckers are also present at, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Legs and feet are gray. CCB’s 2017 surveys of PGP and GDSNWR identified a combined total population of 96 individual red-cockaded woodpeckers—at the time, this was the largest population of the species known to occur in Virginia since the early 1980s. Red-headed Woodpeckers, whether male or female, look alike, wearing tuxedo-like plumage with all-red heads from throat, completely over the head and down the back of the head to the base of the neck. and has a much smaller bill than either bird. Not all black birds are Blackbirds and not all Blackbirds are black… some are boldly patterned with yellow, orange or red. Physically, the name red-bellied can be a bit misleading because the stomach feathers have only a hint of red to them. Center for Conservation Biology Technical Report Series, CCBTR-17-17. Downy Woodpeckers typically have small bills. Harding. 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