FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Re: recently completed winter RCW survey

[Gary & Jamie Witmer <thewitmers@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am relativley new to the state, and have just recently subscribed 
to this list. I found this report on the RCWs very interesting. That 
there is a significant population of these birds in VA was news to me 
(good news!), and I hadn't heard of the Piney Grove Preserve before. 
Is that a Nature Conservancy property? What parts of VA can RCWs be 
found in, or maybe I should ask if there are more places than this 
that they occur in VA? I also don't know very much about their actual 
distribution, aware only that they are a 'southern' bird. Am I 
correct in assuming that in VA they would occur in the very southern 
part of the state, and in the more easterly lowlands where Long-leaf 
Pine forests can be found? Many questions arise concerning the 
character of Piney Grove and the dynamics of its RCWs, but there are 
enough questions in this post already.

So very glad to learn that these are alive and being cared for in VA.

Gary Witmer

> During the month of December, 2005, Bryan Watts, Mike Wilson, Bart 
> Paxton, Fletcher Smith and Joshua LeClerc of the Center for 
> Conservation Biology and Neal Humke of The Nature Conservancy 
> systematically surveyed the Red-cockaded Woodpecker population 
> within the Piney Grove Preserve.  Twenty six individuals were 
> identified by their unique combinations of color bands.  Going into 
> the winter season, the population contains 10 hatching-year birds, 2 
> second-year birds, 5 third-year birds, 3 forth-year birds, 2 
> fifth-year birds, 1 bird that is at least in its sixth year, 1 bird 
> that is at least in its tenth year, and 1 bird of unknown age. 
> These include 13 males, 12 females, and 1 bird of unknown sex.  Most 
> (16 of 26 birds) of the population is known to have originated 
> within the preserve.  Nine of the remaining birds have been released 
> in the preserve since 2001 from breeding populations in the 
> Carolinas.  The band combination from the remaining bird does not 
> match any bird banded or released within the preserve.  An attempt 
> will be made early in 2006 to capture and determine the origin of 
> this individual. 
>
>
>
> A great deal of progress has been made in recent years to manage 
> this fragile population and to begin the long process of building it 
> back to a more stable level.  The fact that the population is 
> carrying this many individuals into the winter and that birds now 
> occupy 7 cluster areas is a positive sign for further advances in 
> the 2006 breeding season.  The fact that 9 of the resident 
> individuals were brought to the site from other populations is 
> evidence that the translocation program initiated during the fall of 
> 2001 has been highly successful.  Translocated birds are present 
> within 6 of the 7 occupied cluster areas. 
>
>
>
> Work with this population is supported by the Virginia Department of 
> Game and Inland Fisheries and the Virginia Chapter of The Nature 
> Conservancy.
>
>
>
> Bryan Watts
>
>
>
> Posted by,
>
>
>
> Barton J. Paxton
> Center for Conservation Biology
> College of William and Mary
> Williamsburg, VA 23187
> Phone (757) 221-1639
> FAX (757) 221-1650
> <mailto:bjpaxt@xxxxxx>bjpaxt@xxxxxx
> <http://www.ccb-wm.org>www.ccb-wm.org