[NatureNS] RB Woodpecker - info on trends needed

Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:20:55 -0400
From: iamclar@dal.ca
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca, Randy Lauff <randy.lauff@gmail.com>
Cc: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Randy:

Here's a summary of the history of RBWO in NS.

Nine were reported 1961-1985, about 40 1986-2000, and 200++ since,  
most of them in big incursions fall 2004 and fall 2008, and again, of  
course, last fall.  At least 10 individuals or pairs have been seen  
during summer, and as you note, breeding was first confirmed (in  
Jollimore, Hfx) in summer 2006.

I did a bit of sleuthing on the issue of big incursions a few months  
ago, and it seems generally accepted that the movements are related to  
fluctuations (quasi-cyclic?) in mast crops. It also seems that the  
species has been spreading n., while populations of Red-headed W's are  
shrinking.

Cheers, Ian
Ian McLaren

Quoting Randy Lauff <randy.lauff@gmail.com>:

> All,
>
> I've birded NS for over 20 years, sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes
> just absorbingly. However, I don't know much about Red-bellied Woodpeckers
> here, though someone has sent in a picture to our local paper and the
> reporter wants details about the species here. From watching NatureNS and
> reading *Nova Scotia Birds*, I feel like this statement is fair: "It is a
> regular fall or winter visitor, in some years, in ones and twos, and in
> others, like this one, they are popping up regularly. I don’t think anyone
> knows why this happens." Does this sound reasonable?
>
> There is one nest record in the Atlas (confirmed)...were there any others
> this past year?
>
> Thanks,
> Randy
>
> _________________________________
> RF Lauff
> Way in the boonies of
> Antigonish County, NS.
>



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