Talk:Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve

Habitat for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker

The Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) of the sandhills area of North Carolina is important birding habitat for many birds including the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker.(1)(2)(3) If one were to look at both a birding field guide and a tree field guide, one would see two maps that could be superimposed, one upon the other, to create a pretty perfect matching pair. That is due to the fact that the Red-cockaded Woodpecker requires large, undisturbed tracts of the Longleaf Pine for its nesting, roosting and food habitat.

Unlike most other woodpeckers, the Red-cockaded drills roosting holes in live trees rather than in dead trees. The soft wood of the Longleaf Pine is to his/her liking.

Bachman's Sparrow, Pine Warbler, Eastern Bluebird and many other birds also find the sandhills Longleaf Pine habitat to their liking. Weymouth Woods is a designated "important birding area." (3)

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are more easily sighted at Weymouth Woods than in almost any other place. At least one nesting colony is known to be located in Weymouth Woods - an easy 200 yard hike from the Nature Center and parking lot.(3)

Late April is the ideal time to see this bird while they are nesting and feeding their young.(3) Nest sights can easily be found by watching for the dripping sap wells of the Longleaf Pines that have been created by the woodpecker's drill of the nest sight.

Sources:

1. [Page 26] The Sibley Guide To Trees - by David Sibley
2. [Page 250] The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America - by David Sibley
3. [Page 118] Audubon North Carolina - Birding In North Carolina State Parks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.95.155.49 (talk) 15:14, 9 February 2015 (UTC)