Population status

Black-backed Woodpecker
(Picoides arcticus)

No single survey adequately covers the remote northern forests where the Black-backed Woodpecker breeds. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provides the best source of information, supplemented by the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). BBS results suggest that the population has decreased steadily since 1970, with an overall 45% reduction in abundance. However, the CBC suggests that wintering populations have shown little overall change since about 1970. Taking both results into account, the Black-backed Woodpecker is thought to have experienced a moderate decrease in population, but this assessment is of only medium reliability because of the lack of coverage and disagreement between survey results.

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

View definitions of table column headings being used by: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Table 1: Population trends by geographic area
Geographic area	Time Period ^{Table 1 - footnote 1}	Annual trend ^{Table 1 - footnote 2}	Intervals ^{Table 1 - footnote3}
Geographic area	Time Period ^{Table 1 - footnote 1}	Annual trend ^{Table 1 - footnote 2}	Lower	Upper
Canada Select to view graph of the geographic area: Canada 1970-2012; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2012	-1.4	-3.9	1.1

Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Additional information on: Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

View definitions of table column headings being used by: Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Table 2: Population trends by geographic area
Geographic area	Time Period	Annual trend ^{Table 2 - footnote 1}	Limits
Geographic area	Time Period	Annual trend ^{Table 2 - footnote 1}	Lower	Upper
North America Select to view graph of the geographic area: North America 1965-2012; Christmas Bird Count (CBC)	1965-2012	0.1	-1.9	1.8

References

Dixon, R.D. and V.A. Saab. 2000. Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Dixon, R.D. and V.A. Saab. 2000. Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)