The following information was part of our April 2017 feature article, “Build It and They Will Come,” which documents the efforts of citizen-scientists in Minnesota to bring back Red-headed Woodpecker through habitat restoration programs. Below you will find four places where you may encounter Red-headed Woodpecker, and discover four things you can do to help them.
Where to see Red-headed Woodpecker
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
A 43,696-acre refuge that is home to the experimental eastern flock of Whooping Cranes as well as Red-headed Woodpeckers. In northern Juneau County, near Necedah, Wisconsin.
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
A 5,400-acre experimental ecological reserve about 30 miles north of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Cedar Creek is on private University of Minnesota land, but an oak-savanna nature trail is open to the public.
Kankakee Sands
An 8,000-acre prairie-savanna complex in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois.
Crow’s Nest Preserve
Over 600 acres of woodlands, meadows, and crop fields along French Creek in Elverson, northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Four ways you can help woodpeckers
- Learn about savanna habitat and become an advocate for its preservation.
- If you have Red-headed Woodpeckers in your area, become an advocate for dead trees. Retain snags that are not dangerous.
- Volunteer to help with a supervised burn at a local prairie.
- Join a local bird club, Audubon chapter, or other environmental group that works for land preservation.
Learn more about woodpeckers
Why a Downy Woodpecker might have red on its crown, not nape
Why woodpeckers can hammer without getting headaches
Six photos from the Red-bellied Woodpecker family album
Lewis’s Woodpecker wins habitat protection in Oregon
Why a normally black Downy Woodpecker might look gray
Will Red-headed Woodpecker return home?
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