This past weekend some pine forest was on fire near Dryden (Chelan County;
Williams and Ollalie [sp?] canyons, according to Seattle Times), which is
only a few miles as the woodpecker flies from the Camas Creek burn. (A TV
news report also indicated fire south of route 2/97, even closer to Camas
Creek). This raises a question: how long after a fire does it take for
insects to invade the burned trees, and how long does it take for
Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers to start working the infested
trees? That is, how long until the Dryden burn becomes a likely area to
search for these woodpeckers? And how long on average until the
woodpeckers lose interest in a burn?


David Wright
dwright at u.washington.edu