The Downy Woodpecker is a common inhabitant of wooded areas in Canada. The Breeding Bird Survey suggests there has been little overall change in the population since about 1970. Currently, there appear to be few threats to this common and adaptable species.
There are few conservation concerns for this widespread and adaptable species. Because the Downy Woodpecker prefers open stand habitat, management that thins forest habitats can be beneficial (Jackson and Ouellet 2002). However, other practices such as extensive clearing or intensive, even-aged, forest monoculture have a negative impact on populations because the earliest successional stages do not provide nesting habitat (Conner et al. 1975 in Jackson and Ouellet 2002). Populations were at a high during the 1950s and 1960s when insect food sources were high as a result of peak tree mortality due to diseases such as Dutch Elm disease (Jackson and Ouellet 2002).
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.
