Save That Snag!
The motto of the Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery (RhWR) is Save that snag!
Don’t know what a snag is? – It is a dead tree. It often has lost its branches and some limbs. Red-headed Woodpeckers depend upon these snags for excavating their nest sites and roosting sites. They could use as many as three snags in a breeding season for nesting and more for roosting. They often use more than one site for roosting and may even move in a night from one roosting site to another if threatened. Occasionally, they will use a dead limb on a live tree and sometimes a live limb or tree. But these trees are usually ones with soft wood.
RHWOs also use snags for hunting flying insects. They are often seen sitting in the top of a favorite snag and fly off to catch a flying insect.
Snags are commonly cut down because they are perceived to be a danger or thought to harbor disease that could spread to live trees. Both of these are legitimate reasons, but most of the time they are not true. If you have a dead tree find out why it died an if it is a threat before you cut it down. Our researchers have observed over 30 species of wildlife using these trees.
So – Save that snag!