Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Derek W. Rosenberger

Dr. Gregory Long

Project Type

Student Scholarship

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery

Presentation Type

Poster Session

Abstract

Red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) used to be easy to find out in the wild, but as humans encroached on their habitats, their populations started to become impacted. They have a habitat range from Southern Canada down to the Gulf Coast. In several states their numbers are threatened due to loss of habitat. Red-headed woodpeckers prefer to live in open woodlands with dead, or dying, trees to nest in. As humans take away the dead trees from the forests, red-headed woodpeckers are losing their nesting sites. Preservation of red-headed woodpecker habitats are needed to ensure the population starts to grow, and the numbers go from the “threatened” level to more stable levels. In order to preserve red-headed woodpecker habitats, knowing their food preferences is useful. The purpose of this study was to determine if red-headed woodpeckers had a preference when it came to food and if that preference changed as the seasons changed. Photos of red-headed woodpeckers foraging on food items not from bird feeders were collected from macaulaylibrary.org. After analyzing 18,400 photos it was determined that red-headed woodpeckers prefer to eat nuts over any other type of food that was observed. As the seasons go from warm to cold, there is a decrease in the percentage of animals forged on.

Permission Type

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Apr 10th, 4:30 PM Apr 10th, 5:00 PM

Food Preferences of Red-Headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) and the Relationship with Season Change

Fishbowl

Red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) used to be easy to find out in the wild, but as humans encroached on their habitats, their populations started to become impacted. They have a habitat range from Southern Canada down to the Gulf Coast. In several states their numbers are threatened due to loss of habitat. Red-headed woodpeckers prefer to live in open woodlands with dead, or dying, trees to nest in. As humans take away the dead trees from the forests, red-headed woodpeckers are losing their nesting sites. Preservation of red-headed woodpecker habitats are needed to ensure the population starts to grow, and the numbers go from the “threatened” level to more stable levels. In order to preserve red-headed woodpecker habitats, knowing their food preferences is useful. The purpose of this study was to determine if red-headed woodpeckers had a preference when it came to food and if that preference changed as the seasons changed. Photos of red-headed woodpeckers foraging on food items not from bird feeders were collected from macaulaylibrary.org. After analyzing 18,400 photos it was determined that red-headed woodpeckers prefer to eat nuts over any other type of food that was observed. As the seasons go from warm to cold, there is a decrease in the percentage of animals forged on.