Audubon Everglades Presents
“Recovering the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker”
Presented by Jay Marvin, Law Enforcement Captain, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC)
Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 7PM
Zoom-Hosted Presentation (advance registration required)
6:45-7:00 PM Social time with fellow members and presenters
About the Program
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 Research Program 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.
The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker is an endangered species thriving on the Avon Park Air Force Range. About the size of a cardinal, the RCW calls the longleaf pines located on the range home. Marked and protected by the range mangers. The goal of the range is to expand the RCW habitat off the range and increase the population of birds. (U.S. Air Force courtesy Photo)
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 52nd continuous year. In addition to his work in avian ecology, another of Dr. Bowman’s interests is the many effects, both locally and worldwide, of urbanization on birds.
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