You can use it for research or reference. To access the current site visit current site.
The White-headed Woodpecker is a rare resident of ponderosa pine forests in southern British Columbia. The population in Canada is too small to monitor by the major bird surveys. Incidental sightings reported annually suggest that there has been a decrease in numbers since 1970 and only a small, but relatively stable, number of individuals exist today. This led the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada to designate the White-headed Woodpecker as Endangered in 2000; it was re-assessed as such in 2010 (COSEWIC). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
White-headed Woodpeckers rely on the seeds of ponderosa pine as a primary food source from fall through spring (Garrett et al. 1996). They prefer open, park-like stands of ponderosa pine, since those habitats produce high cone crops and have a high density of snags suitable for nest cavities. However, most of these habitats have been converted through logging and fire suppression to dense stands of young trees that produce poor cone crops and low densities of suitable nest trees (Garrett et al. 1996). If the present mountain pine beetle epidemic continues unabated, it may cause substantial habitat loss over the next decade (Westfall and Ebata 2008). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view the Recovery Strategy, see the SARA Registry.
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:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.