Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

Lauren Pharr on Being a Black Field Biologist

May 31, 2023 For her PhD, Lauren Pharr took on a challenge: studying Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, which make their nests high in pine trees. But as a Black woman working as a field biologist in the rural South, Lauren says she faces higher levels of risk than her white colleagues. Lauren co-founded an

Fort Benning’s Woodpecker Sanctuary

August 9, 2021 Fort Benning, Georgia, is one of the most active military bases in the world. But its thousands of acres also contain longleaf pine forests where endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers nest. It takes years for a woodpecker to excavate a nest cavity. To help the species, biologists climb high

Saving the Red-cockaded Woodpecker

January 7, 2021 After carving a nest cavity in a living tree, which can take a year or more, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers peck holes around the nest, causing sap to flow downward. This creates a barrier to thwart hungry snakes. The mature longleaf pine woods where these endangered birds live are shrinking

Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Southeastern Forests

July 7, 2015 Native to the Southeast across to East Texas, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers differ from most woodpeckers. They remain in cooperative family groups throughout their lives. And they excavate nests in living trees rather than dead ones, often reusing the same cavities for decades. The federal

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers - Sunrise Vigil in the Pines

July 17, 2012 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require large, old pines in which to nest. They breed cooperatively, and a family of these birds may have several nests in one area. They may also forage together, chattering and flying from tree to tree. The destruction of their preferred habitat – mature southern