[Mnbird] Red-headed woodpeckers

[Raymond Faber]

In the late '70s, I took an Ornithology class to a Mississippi River
floodplain forest tract.  Red-headed woodpeckers were numerous.  I told the
students to enjoy it while it lasted, because the dead American elm tree
carcasses would soon be gone, killed by Dutch elm disease.  Seeing them was
then uncommon for many years.  Recently I expressed the hope that
red-headed woodpeckers would once again become more common, given that ash
trees are being devastated by the emerald ash borer invasion (it appears
worse to me than the Dutch elm disease episode).  On Thursday, my
Ornithology class enjoyed marvelous weather while walking the trail to
King's Bluff at Great River Bluffs State Park.  Red-headed woodpeckers were
numerous!  Many ash trees around the Winona area have been cut down after
being killed by emerald ash borers due to safety concerns. That is
unavoidable, but if you have an ash tree that does not endanger people or
structures when it falls it would be helpful to woodpeckers (etc) to let it
stand.  Red-headed woodpeckers will thank you!

Ray Faber

-- 
Raymond A. Faber, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
700 Terrace Heights #1524
Winona MN 55987

Telephone: 507-457-1540
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