The Red-headed Woodpecker

By Al Lowe
Contributor

People are often telling me that they saw a red-headed woodpecker. I'm pretty sure that in almost every case, he wasn't the real thing. The real Red-headed Woodpecker is a bird which, once you have seen it, you will never mistake it for anything else. They are not very common here in the Northwest, even in summer, and are not to be here in the winter at all.
At one time, this bird was one of the most common woodpeckers in all eastern North America. Where we are accustomed to seeing woodpeckers picking at trees for food, the Red-heads will eat almost anything. Corn, nuts, all kinds of fruit, berries, the young and eggs of other birds - all of these and more are part of the diet.
They did so much damage to orchards in the early years of settlement, that they were really persecuted. Even Audubon, the famous naturalist, records that over 100 of these birds were shot out of a single tree in one day. You can see that they were very common, and very destructive, as well.
This bird is just about the easiest bird we have to identify. The back is jet black, as is the tail and part of the wings. The whole front, and the other part of the wings is pure white. But the most prominent, and unmistakable identifying part is the red - head, neck and upper breast are solid scarlet. While most other woodpeckers have some red on their heads, this one goes all out. When you see it flying it appears more red and white than anything else.
The Red-head's range is from southern Saskatchewan to New Brunswick, and south to Texas and Florida. In most places, it doesn't migrate, but in the north, in our area, it tends to drift further south for the winter. To see one in North Ontario in the winter would be very rare indeed.
The Red-headed Woodpecker was very, very common in the early days of North America. Massive shooting to protect crops contributed quite a bit to its decline. And then it became a big nuisance in another sense. It started making its nests in the poles of the electric street railway systems.
Holes pecked put a foot or so deep filled with water, and rotted within a year or so. This problem became so bad that, in Kansas City, they appointed a 'woodpecker exterminator', whose job was to shoot as many woodpeckers as he could, all day.
The main decline, however, as with many of our species, was caused by the loss of suitable habitat. The clearing of land, the systematic removal of dead trees, and the disappearance of wooden fence posts, have almost eliminated the Red-headed Woodpeckers' preferred nesting sites.
The Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, is one of the very easiest birds to recognize, even for a rank amateur. They do breed in this part of Ontario.
So, in the summer, watch out for this one - one of the most colourful birds we have. As they say in England - you cawn't miss it!