Page 68 - 2018 NOV/DEC Outdoor Oklahoma

Spring: A New Generation check a cluster of five to seven trees in five minutes or
“We had 11 breeding pairs of birds on the area last year less. Without it, we would have to climb each individual
and expect a similar number this year,” Barnes said. “These tree and use a small mirror to see into the cavity.”
woodpeckers are unique among Oklahoma’s birds in that The latest round of cavity checks began in late April
the breeding pair gets help from last year’s offspring in 2018 and continued until early July, when all nesting
nest duties like incubating eggs and caring for young.” activity had ended for the year. At least 14 red-cockaded
To find out which cavity tree will house the next gener- woodpecker breeding pairs attempted nesting this year,
ation, Barnes and Shope use a bright yellow telescoping producing a total of 39 eggs.
pole with a small camera mounted at the top to peek into
each cavity. Summer: Banding Area Birds
“Most of our cavities are built about 30 feet above the By early summer, 24 of the 39 red-cockaded woodpeck-
ground,” Barnes said. “Thanks to the peeper cam, we can er eggs had hatched, and the management team had only
a few weeks to capture the chicks in their hidden nests
USDA and attach unique identification bands to their legs.
“Each bird gets a metal band with a unique number so
that if it is recaptured later in life it can be tracked back
to its origin at the McCurtain County Wilderness Area.

BLAKE PODHAJSKY/ODWC

Red-cockaded woodpecker hatchlings are collected and banded to allow
biologists to study these endangered birds.
Oklahoma’s only remaining population of red-cockaded woodpeckers is
found on the 100-year-old McCurtain County Wilderness Area.
CLAY BARNES/ODWC CLAY BARNES/ODWC BLAKE PODHAJSKY/ODWC

A juvenile red-cockaded A pole-mounted video camera
woodpecker sits inside a tree- hoisted many feet up to the
cavity insert. nest cavity of a red-cockaded
woodpecker reveals the presence This fragile hatchling is ready to be returned to the tree cavity after
of four eggs. getting leg bands that will allow future research.

40 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA