My experience isn't with Lewis' Woodpeckers. However, we did have some luck
with Northern Flickers that might be applicable.

WHAT I THINK WE HAVE LEARNED: (please correct or add folks)
[_] The Flickers require both an appropriate sized nestbox and night roost
for the off-duty bird (female?). The boxes need to be quite close to one
another.
[_] Predation on the young my be a problem, so placing them far away from
nesting Kestrels, Jays and Owls would be good. (Last year, our first
sucess, two young fledged from 6 viable eggs of the 7 in the nest box. One
seemed to be starved for food at the end, so assume there is a limit as to
how many they can really raise, given the habitat they are in.)
[_] Starlings thwarted my earlier attempts at providing nest boxes for the
Flickers. However, my observation is that Starlings will not let another
Starling nest closer than about 25 feet. So, I ended up clustering my
Flicker nestboxes in a group of 3 within 12-15 feet of one another. The
Starlings claimed one and defended the entire group from other Starlings.
That left two for the Flickers, and they nested in one. I don't know if
they used the third, but assume that they likely did.
[_] I did not do anything to create trauma in birdom by killing Starlings,
as I assumed that Flickers would have a negative response to nesting around
a bird killer - be it human or some other type of predator.

That's my two-cents worth. Would like to learn from other folks'
experiences.

**** ************ ****
John Allinger
Hockinson, Clark County, Washington
-- (Southwest Washington)
Elevation: 500 feet / 160 meters
Latitude: _45_45_N
Longitude: _122_30_W
< nhojregnilla at hotmail.com >



----- Original Message -----
From: David
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:05 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Spacing Lewis's woodpecker houses' question


My wife and I own 40 acres just north of Sisters, Oregon. The property is
about 30 minutes drive from town, out in a very uninhabited, mixed woodland
area, with Ponderosa pines and Junipers.

We'd like to attract Lewis's woodpeckers by building houses for them.
People have seen them in other areas, but none have been sighted very close
to where we are.

Does anyone know if 40 acres is enough to support a pair of Lewis's, and, if
so, how far apart should we space the houses?

Thank you.