Lewis's Woodpecker
(Melanerpes lewis)

Overview

Summary

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The Lewis's Woodpecker breeds in open ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests and grasslands, riparian cottonwood and old burns in southern British Columbia. A coastal population has been extirpated and the small wintering population has been reduced to one or two individuals. The Canadian breeding population is roughly estimated to be between 315 and 460 pairs (Environment Canada 2014). Results from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest that the species has undergone a moderate decrease in Canada since about 1970. In 2010, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada revised its assessment of this species to Threatened from Special Concern because of its small population, ongoing decline and threats to its breeding habitat (COSEWIC 2010a, COSEWIC 2001). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• Management Plan for the Lewis’s Woodpecker in Canada
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

The Lewis's Woodpecker typically nests in open ponderosa pine forests, grasslands, and mature cottonwood stands. The species would benefit from management to maintain or restore these habitats. Conservation of key breeding habitat, including old-growth cottonwood, cessation of wildlife tree removal for firewood, modification of danger trees to removal danger component, rather than complete removal, and prescribed burns to maintain an open understory in these forests are recommended (Environment Canada 2014, Vierling et al. 2013). The species also nests in burned-over pine and Douglas-fir forests, but these habitats are only available for less than 30 years before the new forests become too thick (Vierling et al. 2013). Directed surveys in British Columbia could provide long-term trend data in the future (Environment Canada 2014). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2001. COSEWIC Status Report on the Lewis’ Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. vi + 18 pp. COSEWIC. 2001. COSEWIC Status Report on the Lewis’ Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. vi + 18 pp. (Link)
• COSEWIC. 2010a. Assessment Results (April 2010 COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting).
• Environment Canada. 2014. Management Plan for the Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii + 23 pp.. Environment Canada. 2014. Management Plan for the Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii + 23 pp.. (Link)
• Vierling, K.T., V.A. Saab and B.W. Tobalske. 2013. Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Vierling, K.T., V.A. Saab and B.W. Tobalske. 2013. Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)