{"id":143033,"date":"2025-04-23T02:40:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T07:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=143033"},"modified":"2025-04-23T06:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T11:52:09","slug":"the-demise-of-a-red-headed-woodpecker-nesting-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/23\/the-demise-of-a-red-headed-woodpecker-nesting-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"The Demise Of A Red-headed Woodpecker Nesting Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a short and sad story about the demise of a Red-headed Woodpecker nesting tree at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\"Red-headedRed-headed Woodpecker perched above of their nesting cavity \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f11, 1\/640, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Canon RF 800mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In late March, I wrote about how the Red-headed Woodpecker nesting season was underway<\/span><\/a>. The nesting tree, located close to the road, was ideally located to catch soft morning light, which I was eager to photograph.<\/p>\n

I was looking forward to capturing the woodpeckers and, hopefully, their young as well.<\/p>\n

The last time I saw the nesting tree was on April 13th. After that, I didn\u2019t visit the refuge for about a week due to bad weather, including strong winds and heavy rain.<\/p>\n

As soon as it cleared, my dear friend Steve Creek<\/span><\/a> and I headed to the refuge. That was Monday.<\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t prepared for what we found at the refuge. The nesting tree was no longer standing; it had fallen onto the soggy ground. Apparently, the strong winds had knocked the dead tree, with its nesting cavity, down.<\/p>\n

By the time the nesting tree was blown down, the woodpeckers should have had eggs inside. Just thinking about the loss of the birds hit hard. I\u2019m not sure if the Red-headed Woodpeckers<\/span><\/a> will attempt to renest.<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of effort to excavate those nesting cavities, so the loss of the tree is even harder to process.<\/p>\n

It also reminded me of a time long ago now when I witnessed the loss of a what I called the magical sapsucker nesting tree<\/span><\/a> in Idaho, although that wasn\u2019t caused by nature.<\/p>\n

Someone chopped that tree down, and I saw the aftermath. It had nesting Northern Flickers, Williamson\u2019s Sapsuckers, and Northern House Wrens all sharing the same tree.<\/p>\n

Nesting birds struggle. A lot. It\u2019s often a harsh reality, but it’s part of the cycle of life. Their perseverance through challenges is both humbling and inspiring.<\/p>\n

Still, life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Red-headed Woodpecker photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a short and sad story about the demise of a Red-headed Woodpecker nesting tree at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,13973,14001,13974],"tags":[4004,14190,13984,14002,2580,2579,4104,14003,4018,8453,165,4427,4777,2146],"class_list":["post-143033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-red-headed-woodpeckers","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-melanerpes-erythrocephalus","tag-nesting-cavity","tag-nesting-tree","tag-perched","tag-red-headed-woodpecker","tag-sky","tag-snag","tag-spring","tag-tree","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/red-headed-woodpecker-nest-tree-mia-mcpherson-2458.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-BcZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142167,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/29\/red-headed-woodpecker-nesting-season-is-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":143033,"position":0},"title":"Red-headed Woodpecker Nesting Season Is On!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Five days ago I was very happy to photograph and take Red-headed Woodpecker videos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on a bright morning in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-headed Woodpecker at their nesting cavity, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114563,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/20\/red-headed-woodpecker-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":143033,"position":1},"title":"Red-headed Woodpecker Photos From Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"These Red-headed Woodpecker photos were taken last month at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I had one great day with this species in two spots on the refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-headed Woodpecker in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-headed-woodpecker-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-9310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-headed-woodpecker-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-9310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-headed-woodpecker-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-9310.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker was perched on a branch when I photographed it on May 21st at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Red-headed Woodpecker adult, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-headed-woodpecker-branch-mia-mcpherson-6894.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-headed-woodpecker-branch-mia-mcpherson-6894.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-headed-woodpecker-branch-mia-mcpherson-6894.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"November 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I was happy when I took my first acceptable images of a male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pileated-woodpecker-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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