Page 20 - OutdoorOK2024MayJune ONLINE

For many Oklahoma birders, woodpeckers are a somewhat expected
staple. As a group, the insect eating, drumming machines can be spot-
ted across the state at any time of the year, in almost every habitat. But
some of the state’s 14 documented species are more challenging to find
than others.
During a “Breeding Bird Atlas” survey near the community of Vinson,
Mark Howery, a senior biologist with the Wildlife Department, hauled
Vinson in a remarkable collection of woodpeckers, including two species with
limited ranges in the state. Vinson, located eight miles east of the
Texas state line in Harmon County, resembles much of southwestern
Oklahoma’s mesquite grasslands.
“It really surprised me,” Howery said. “I saw golden-fronted
woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers, northern flickers, and lad-
der-backed woodpeckers. And I was able to get confirmation of nesting
Red-headed woodpecker. for each species.”

JEN GOELLNITZ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

18 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA