I am relativley new to the state, and have just recently subscribed
to this list. I found this report on the RCWs very interesting. That
there is a significant population of these birds in VA was news to me
(good news!), and I hadn't heard of the Piney Grove Preserve before.
Is that a Nature Conservancy property? What parts of VA can RCWs be
found in, or maybe I should ask if there are more places than this
that they occur in VA? I also don't know very much about their actual
distribution, aware only that they are a 'southern' bird. Am I
correct in assuming that in VA they would occur in the very southern
part of the state, and in the more easterly lowlands where Long-leaf
Pine forests can be found? Many questions arise concerning the
character of Piney Grove and the dynamics of its RCWs, but there are
enough questions in this post already.
So very glad to learn that these are alive and being cared for in VA.
Gary Witmer
During the month of December, 2005, Bryan Watts, Mike Wilson, Bart Paxton, Fletcher Smith and Joshua LeClerc of the Center for Conservation Biology and Neal Humke of The Nature Conservancy systematically surveyed the Red-cockaded Woodpecker population within the Piney Grove Preserve. Twenty six individuals were identified by their unique combinations of color bands. Going into the winter season, the population contains 10 hatching-year birds, 2 second-year birds, 5 third-year birds, 3 forth-year birds, 2 fifth-year birds, 1 bird that is at least in its sixth year, 1 bird that is at least in its tenth year, and 1 bird of unknown age. These include 13 males, 12 females, and 1 bird of unknown sex. Most (16 of 26 birds) of the population is known to have originated within the preserve. Nine of the remaining birds have been released in the preserve since 2001 from breeding populations in the Carolinas. The band combination from the remaining bird does not match any bird banded or released within the preserve. An attempt will be made early in 2006 to capture and determine the origin of this individual.
A great deal of progress has been made in recent years to manage this fragile population and to begin the long process of building it back to a more stable level. The fact that the population is carrying this many individuals into the winter and that birds now occupy 7 cluster areas is a positive sign for further advances in the 2006 breeding season. The fact that 9 of the resident individuals were brought to the site from other populations is evidence that the translocation program initiated during the fall of 2001 has been highly successful. Translocated birds are present within 6 of the 7 occupied cluster areas.
Work with this population is supported by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
Bryan Watts
Posted by,
Barton J. Paxton
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23187
Phone (757) 221-1639
FAX (757) 221-1650
<mailto:bjpaxt@xxxxxx>bjpaxt@xxxxxx
<http://www.ccb-wm.org>www.ccb-wm.org
