Submitted by Kelly Burgess
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of red outside of my living room window. My heart began to flutter with excitement as I squinted towards the abundance of trees in my backyard. Was it possible that I was catching a sighting of the rare and endangered Red-headed woodpecker? Unfortunately, this was not the case as it didn’t have the distinct marking of an entirely red head. I believe it was a pileated woodpecker, with its red crown and large black body. Although I was still excited to witness nature in action, my disappointment inspired me to learn more about how to help support the preservation of this beautiful bird.
How can I help?
The Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association will be hosting an online Silent Auction on Facebook in order to raise money for the preservation of the Red-headed Woodpecker. With your support, we hope to raise enough money to qualify for a grant from the Habitat Stewardship Program.
With the assistance of Dr. Elizabeth Gow of the University of Guelph Birds Canada, we will have the expertise we need to start initiatives for this project. Part of the project will be to organize volunteers to view the nests and recruit and train birders to identify the nesting cavities and monitor breeding success.
Another goal of the project is to increase awareness of the importance of conserving breeding habitat as it is estimated that, according to the Provincial Breeding Bird Atlas, there are as few as 4,000 Red-headed woodpeckers left in Ontario and Manitoba, a decline of 79% since 1970.
We would appreciate your support by joining and bidding in our Silent Auction. There are some amazing items to bid on such as a two-hour star gazing session, a guided nature walk, a Red-headed woodpecker painting, a parks merchandise package, a special dinner and an EcoAdventure forest escape.
There will be over 30 items displayed on our Facebook page and ready for bidding on March 8 at 10:00 a.m. The bidding will close on March 15 at 5 p.m. with the item going to the highest bidder at that time. All you have to do is post a comment of the amount you wish to bid below the item. Each subsequent bid must follow the minimum increment of $1.00 and some items will start with a minimum bid. We ask that you post a new comment and not to reply to previous bid comments. The highest bidder will be contacted and we will provide instructions for payment. If you wish to donate directly to the project or learn more, please visit https://bpba.ca/projects/species-at-risk.
If you see a Red-headed woodpecker, please contact the Biosphere through our website at https://www.bpba.ca/ or message us on our Facebook page. We would love the support of the community and hope you can join us on Monday, March 8 for opening bids on our Facebook page called “Red-headed Woodpecker Silent Auction”.
