Red-headed Woodpecker Nest!

 Greetings,

It is not every day I find a Red-headed Woodpecker nest.  Last week however, I found two in two days.  

July 2nd, I was conducting my weekly Breeding Bird Atlas survey in my assigned area of Woodbine.  Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner of A. E. Mullinix Rd., a red, white & black colored bird flew right in front of me and landed in a Walnut tree.  I stopped right there on the road with excitement, a Red-headed Woodpecker (RHWO)!  The bird then flew down to a fence post right along the road and I was able to get a look and a photo, but disappointed that it did not have any food in its bill.  Those of you familiar with A. E. Mullinix Rd. know that it is without a shoulder and parking is very difficult.  A car came up behind me and I had to move on.  All I could think was that bird had no reason to be there if it wasn’t breeding.  I know at this time of year, RHWO’s are feeding their young now.  I was prepared to park over a mile away (where I had permission) and walk back to this area to see if there was a nest.  

Two days later I went out with my friend Mary Lou Clark to look  for the nest.  We met at 6am!  My thoughts were that the traffic would be very light at that hour on the road.  We got to the area and within 5 minutes, saw the first RHWO.  Within a minute or two, the second one showed up, a pair!  

Let me give you a search image.  The birds were in a nice stand of dead Ash trees next to a very small stream surrounded by pasture .  Behind the pasture was some forest.  I noticed the birds kept flying into a Walnut tree and back to the dead trees.  I believe they were foraging.  Walnuts can have some tasty caterpillars.  Eventually, they started going to the same dead tree with holes.  Distance and lighting made it difficult to see if they actually had food in their bills or if young were in the hole.  Finally, the sun came out and the camera was able to catch a photo of a youngster looking out of the hole!  This confirmed the species breeding!!

We now have 2 RHWO nests confirmed in Howard County.  There was a recent nest confirmed at Bon Secours.  This is a rare breeder in Howard County so this is exciting.  Years can go by without a confirmation.  

Please be on the lookout for this bird.  If you see one, please let me know and I will come out and look for a nest.  This is the only woodpecker around here with a completely red head.  This is a great time to be looking for them feeding young.  Think about where you might have appropriate habitat in your area.  Golf courses are good locations to look too.  You can ask friends and family to be on the lookout too.  Do you see the nestling in the photo peeking out of the nest cavity?  The nestlings have brown heads, the red will come later.