Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4

Distribution

Global range

The Red-headed Woodpecker occurs only in North America. Its range extends northward to the southern parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec; westward to the eastern parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and the centre of New Mexico; southward to the Texas panhandle to the Gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida; and eastward to the Atlantic seaboard states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont (Smith et al. 2000, Figure 1). Its range is concentrated primarily in the midwest U.S. states (Smith et al. 2000, Figure 2).

Figure 1. Distribution of the Red-headed Woodpecker in North America, from Smith et al. (2000)

Figure 1.  Distribution of the Red-headed Woodpecker in North America, from Smith et al. (2000) (Legend: ¨ breeding range,¨breeding and wintering range,¨wintering range)

Figure 2. Relative abundance of the Red-headed Woodpecker in North America derived from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (taken from Sauer et al. 2005).

Figure 2.  Relative abundance of the Red-headed Woodpecker in North Americaderived from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (taken from Sauer et al. 2005).

The Red-headed Woodpecker winters regularly in the southern two-thirds of its breeding range and rarely north of it (American Ornithologist’s Union 1998, Figure 1). The bird’s wintering range seems closely linked to the annual production of acorns and beechnuts, which varies widely by region from one year to the next (Smith et al. 2000). During migration, it selects overwintering sites according to the density of acorns and beechnuts. If the supply at a given site is not sufficient to last the whole winter, Red-headed Woodpeckers will continue their migration and ultimately choose sites where food resources are sufficiently abundant. The Red-headed Woodpecker uses central Texas and southern Louisiana only as a wintering area (Figure 1).

Canadian range

Breeding Bird Survey data from the 1990s indicate that 0.8% of the North American breeding population of the Red-headed Woodpecker occurs in Canada. Its Canadian range generally includes southern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, southwestern Ontario, and southwestern Quebec (Cadman et al. 1987; Gauthier and Aubry 1995; Smith 1996; Manitoba Avian Research Committee 2003, Figure 1). The species was an occasional breeder in New Brunswick in the late 1800s (Squires 1976) and now appears to be only a rare annual visitor (S. Blaney pers. comm. 2005). It is considered accidental in British Columbia, southern Alberta, and Nova Scotia (Godfrey 1986; Campbell et al. 1990; Erskine 1992; Semenchuk 1992). In winter, the Red-headed Woodpecker is occasional in southern Manitoba and southern Ontario, and is rare and irregular in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and southern Alberta (Godfrey 1986; Cyr and Larivée 1995). Winter sightings usually involve individuals visiting feeding sites in urban areas as well as agricultural areas (Cyr and Larivée 1995; Page 1996).

In Saskatchewan, the Red-headed Woodpecker breeds very locally south of Prince Albert, particularly in the Cypress Hills, in surrounding prairies and in aspen parkland to the east (Godfrey 1986; Smith 1996). There is also evidence of breedingnear the confluence of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers from the early 1990s (B. Korol pers. comm. 2007). In breeding bird atlas surveys in this province, Red-headed Woodpecker breeding was reported in 3% of the province (24 squares). Breeding was confirmed in 8% of squares, and considered probable and possible in 12.5% and 79% of the squares, respectively (Smith 1996).

In Manitoba, the species occurs mainly in the southern part of the province, particularly in the areas of Dauphin, Winnipeg and Sprague, but appears absent from areas dominated by boreal forest (Manitoba Avian Research Committee 2003). The species’ range encompasses approximately 14% of the province (P. Taylor pers. comm. 2005), corresponding mainly to agricultural areas and wooded grasslands (Page 1996). 

In Ontario, the species’ distribution is continuous in the southern part of the province, particularly south of Georgian Bay. It is uncommon in the Canadian Shield, near large urban centres, such as Toronto and Hamilton, and in certain intensively farmed areas (Page 1996). The species is also a regular breeder, albeit in small numbers, in northwestern Ontario (i.e., Lake of the Woods area) and eastern Ontario, along the Ottawa River Valley (Cadman et al. 1987).

In Quebec, the Red-headed Woodpecker is rare and is now only an occasional breeder in the regions bordering the southern St. Lawrence valley, such as the Outaouais, Montreal, Montérégie, and the Eastern Townships (Gauthier and Aubry 1995).

The Red-headed Woodpecker has never been a regular breeder in the Maritime provinces (Erskine 1992). The only confirmed breeding record in these provinces comes from near St. John, New Brunswick and dates from 1881 (Chamberlain 1882c in Squires 1976). Recent records for New Brunswick are mainly of non-breeders observed in the central and northern parts of the province (Erskine 1992).

In Canada, the Extent of Occurrence (EO) of this species is estimated at 317,580 km² (values calculated on the basis of NatureServe 2006, P. Blancher unpubl. data), which corresponds to less than 6% of the species’ total breeding area. The species Area of Occupancy (AO) ranges from i) 217 – 595km² assuming a minimum population size of 700 pairs and territories ranging from a minimum of 3.1 ha to a maximum of 8.5 ha (Venables and Collopy 1989 in Smith et al. 2000) and ii) 1,550 – 4,250 km² assuming the maximum population size of 5,000 pairs and the same range of territory sizes. Based on these estimates the AO for this species could range from a minimum of 217 km² to a maximum of 4,250 km².

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