Over the past few weeks, if you’ve found yourself on any of the trails or forest roads in Bernheim, there is a good chance that you’ve seen a flash of red darting from tree to tree. Take the time to slow down and look closer; you may notice that this burst of color is a red-headed woodpecker, likely gathering acorns or other seeds that it stashed under the bark of a white oak tree last summer.
Color Differences in Adults and Juveniles
The adult red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) has a stunningly bright head that contrasts magnificently with Kentucky’s drab winter landscape. Being a color block of black, brown, and white, this bird’s relatively muted body contributes to the red of it’s head being even more striking. Juvenile individuals are less showy, possessing a head of dark brown plumage, until they begin to molt into adulthood, when their head will develop a mix of brown and red coloration. These birds are sexually monomorphic, meaning that male and female individuals are visually indistinguishable, only able to be differentiated at a DNA level.
Breeding and Nesting
Red-headed woodpeckers will typically breed in March through May in Kentucky. A pair will often stay together for several years − a large portion of their typical 9 to 13-year lifespan. They lay clutches of 3 to 7 eggs, choosing to nest in cavities they dig out of dead trees, dead portions of living trees, or utility poles. The pair will incubate the eggs for about two weeks, with the male sharing in the responsibility by sitting on the eggs at night. Once hatched, the young will stay in the nesting cavity for about a month, depending on both parents for food until they can fly.
Population Decline
This bird’s population has declined significantly in the past fifty years, with the North American Breeding Bird Survey estimating a 54% decline between 1964 and 2019. Some biologists attribute this dip to habitat loss and changes in its food supply. These changes likely began when the American chestnut (Castanea dentata), once a food staple to this and other birds, disappeared from the landscape. In the early twentieth century, the American chestnut tree comprised around 20 percent of the species makeup in Kentucky’s forests. A blight wiped out nearly all the American chestnut trees in the Eastern United States, including Kentucky. By the 1940’s, this once abundant tree became functionally extinct.
Red-Headed Woodpeckers at Bernheim
The resulting canopy gaps stemming from the loss of the chestnut have been primarily filled by white oaks, red oaks, and maples. The abundance of oaks in Bernheim Forest is one reason that the red-headed woodpecker can still thrive here. While this bird has been less frequently spotted throughout it’s range in the Eastern United States, over the past decade, Bernheim remains a haven for them for several reasons.
Bernheim provides a nearly comprehensive mix of habitat that is perfectly suited to this woodpecker. This forest’s wide array of mature oak trees provides ample acorns, and the presence of American beech on the landscape supplies another major source of mast. They will also feed on a variety of bugs, including beetles, cicadas, spiders, midges, bees, and grasshoppers. While insects, nuts, and berries make up most of the woodpecker’s diet, they are very much omnivores, occasionally eating rodents, lizards, and even other birds.
In addition to the fruit-bearing trees and shrubs pervasive in Bernheim, the diverse array of habitats is also attractive to the woodpecker, with wetlands, standing dead timber, and beaver swamps providing food and cover. Over the past few years, the Natural Areas team has created approximately 20 new wetland pools throughout the forest, creating additional habitat for woodpeckers and various other creatures. By managing this forest to promote diverse plant species makeup, mature trees, a variety of habitats, Bernheim is ensuring that this otherwise dwindling bird will have thousands of acres to thrive.
