Critter Corner
The Pileated Woodpecker
The amazing diversity of marine and terrestrial wildlife is one of the hallmarks of the San Juan archipelago. While there are many healthy animal populations, there are also many threatened ones. There are well over one hundred protected fish and animal species in San Juan County, ranging from small food fish like surfsmelt to large mammals including orca whales and from the island marble butterfly to the bald eagle. The Pileated woodpecker is one of those protected species.
The largest of the woodpeckers in this area (in fact in most of North America), its loud ringing calls and huge, rectangular “excavations” in dead trees announces its presence. However, it is rarely seen on the islands. While hundreds of cormorants, robins and even bald eagles are recorded during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird count here each year, less than a dozen Pileated woodpeckers are generally spotted. But you’ll know it if you see one! As large as a crow, the woodpeckers are black with a red crest with white stripes across the face. There is white in the wings, but that is conspicuous only while the bird is in flight. Seen mostly in old growth forests, its excavations for feeding are often used for feeding by other woodpeckers and smaller birds. People “of a certain age” will remember Woody Woodpecker who was modeled after these birds.
Pileated woodpeckers inhabit mature and old-growth forests, and second-growth forests with large snags and fallen trees. Large snags and large decaying live trees in older forests are used by the woodpeckers for nesting and roosting throughout their range. In coastal and island areas, the birds prefer to nest within western red cedar trees, if they are present.
For foraging for food, the highest quality habitat is mature and old-growth coniferous forest, but forests as young as 40 years of age are used if large residual snags are present.
Because of their need for large trees and their sizeable territory requirements, the loss or reduction of extensive wooded tracts and large trees will impact the species.
What can a landowner in the San Juans do to help protect these birds? While planning or maintaining your property here, work to retain the old trees and snags the birds depend on for nesting and foraging. Retaining snags and decaying live trees helps provides suitable nesting and roosting structure for a longer period of time than retaining only hard snags. Take a look for evidence of the woodpeckers. Trees, snags and stumps with existing Pileated nest cavities and foraging excavations should be retained.
For more detailed information about the Pileated woodpecker and their habitat needs see: http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/phs/vol4/pileated_woodpker.pdf
These birds are only one part, but an amazing part, of the San Juan Islands ecosystem. Protection of their habitat is an example of how County regulations, stewardship group efforts and care by individual landowners are all necessary to protect the species.
