Hearing the chainsaws and hammering posts.

I also heard a red-woodpecker in there... got a decent pic of it, though I didn't have the zoom lens on and the autofocus was on, but he kept moving from dead tree to dead tree and... I can't fly like I used to. Too bad all of those dead trees (aka "habitat") will soon be gone anyway.

According to the ROMs website and Ontario Biodiversity it is a species at risk, though I don't quite get the phrase "widespread but rare".


Features: A vivid red head, neck and breast make the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) easily recognizable. This medium-size bird (20cm) lives in open woodland and woodland edges, especially in oak savannahs and riparian forest, which can often be found in parks, golf courses and cemetaries. These habitats contain a higher density of dead trees, which they commonly use for nesting and perching. It is an omnivorous species, feeding on insects in the summer and nuts in the winter.

Status: Special Concern Provincially, Threatened Nationally

Range: The Red-headed Woodpecker lives in southern Ontario where it is widespread but rare.