Hal,

Thank you for the explaination and information. It's good to know that they
are not considered in decline in all areas. And, no, from what I've
observed the Lewis's Woodpeckers seem to have the upper hand in their
relationship with European Starlings at Ft. Simcoe, in spite of all the lawn
and the open nature of the area.



Dennis Rockwell Kennewick, WA dennis.rockwell at gte.net


-----Original Message-----
From: Hal Opperman <halop at accessone.com>
To: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Friday, November 24, 2000 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: LEWIS'S WOODPECKER DECLINES


>Dennis:
>
>It is my understanding, too, that the population at Fort Simcoe is
>strong and healthy. The remarks I was making about the situation in
>interior valleys was addressed to Wayne's observations:
>
>"Lewis's Woodpeckers nest mainly in two habitats in the southern BC
>interior; riparian cottonwood stands in the valleys, and open areas
>(especially burned areas) in ponderosa pine stands. The decline seems
>to have mainly affected Lewis's in the valleys, where they face severe
>competition from Starlings; the latter species is generally absent
>from pine stands."
>
>The Fort Simcoe population is dependent on the large oak groves
>there, which is still a third kind of habitat for this species in
>eastern Washington. One would have to assume that the ecology of
>Lewis's Woodpecker differs -- perhaps considerably -- according to
>the particular habitat type.
>
>Has anybody observed that starlings are making life rough for Lewis's
>Woodpeckers at Fort Simcoe?
>
>>How does this fit in with the situation at Ft Simcoe? Is Lewis's
Woodpecker
>>on the decline in that location too? I was under the impression that
>>population was more-or-less stable.
>>
>>Dennis Rockwell Kennewick, WA dennis.rockwell at gte.net
>
>
>Hal Opperman
>Medina, Washington
>mailto:halop at accessone.com
>
>