RECOVERING THE RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 

“Fires, cavity management, and assisted dispersal: A successful strategy for recovering the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker.” 

Dr. Reed Bowman, Research Program Director, Avian Ecology, Archbold Biological Station 

About the Presentation    While Archbold Biological Station’s Avian Ecology Program may be best known for its research of the Florida Scrub-Jay (You may remember Dr. Bowman’s excellent presentation on the Scrub-jay to AE in April 2019.), the Station also has an extensive history of working with the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. a bird whose survival is inextricably linked to Longleaf Pine forests. Unfortunately, these Southeast forests have been reduced to less than 3% of their original size due to timber harvesting, agriculture, and development, which has resulted in a dramatic decline in Red-cockaded Woodpecker populations and the federal listing of the species as Endangered in 1970. 

For more than 25 years, Archbold staff, under the leadership of Dr. Bowman, have closely monitored the management of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker at the Avon Park Air Force Range. Dr. Bowman’s presentation will share the Station’s research and show how management efforts have been critical in helping this species rally from the brink of extinction.  

About Dr. Reed Bowman 

Dr. Reed Bowman is the John W. Fitzpatrick Director of the Avian Ecology Program at Archbold Biological Station in south-central Florida, one of the oldest and most celebrated not-for-profit biological research stations in the US. He holds graduate degrees in wildlife and biology from McGill University and the University of South Florida. Over the last 40 years he has studied the ecology, demography, and conservation of several threatened and endangered birds, including the American Kestrel, Common Raven, White-crowned Pigeon, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, and the Florida Scrub-Jay. His primary research focuses on the comparative demography, ecology, and evolution of Florida Scrub-Jays in a variety of different landscapes, using long-term data on marked populations. The study of scrub-jays at Archbold overseen by Dr. Bowman is the longest-running study of marked birds in North America, now entering its 52^nd consecutive year. In addition to his work in avian ecology, another of Dr. Bowman’s interests is in the many effects, both local and worldwide, of urbanization on birds. He is an author on more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, the editor of two books, including the acclaimed Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World and co-author of the second edition of Florida Bird Species. He has made more than 150 public presentations about science, ecology, and conservation of Florida birds. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union, past President of both the Association of Field Ornithologists and the Florida Ornithological Society. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Field Ornithology. In 2018, he received the Wilson Ornithological Society’s Margaret Morse Nice Award for lifetime contributions to ornithology and in 2021 Audubon’s Guy Bradley Award for “his relentless commitment to conserving Florida’s wildlife.”  For over 30 years he has been deeply involved in conservation, both locally and nationally. He is a graduate faculty member at the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida and has been the major advisor of two Ph.D. students and 11 Master’s students. Dr. Bowman is also an avid landscape and nature photographer, using his images to further education and conservation of our endangered landscapes.