SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123(2):381-386, 2011 
High Density Nesting of Black-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus ) in a 
Post-fire Great Lakes Jack Pine Forest 
Joseph A. Youngman * 1 and Zach G. Gayk 2 
ABSTRACT.—A stand-replacing fire in 404 ha of 
jack pine (Pinus banksiana ) and mixed pine forest in 
Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 2007 resulted in Black- 
backed Woodpeckers ( Picoides arcticus) nesting at high 
density in 2008. the second possible nesting season post- 
tm:. Nests were found within a 93-ha study area and a 19- 
ha stand (a subset of the 93-ha study area) in 199,5 survey 
hours concentrated in March-July. The 19-ha stand had 
six nests, a density of 0.31 nests/ha or 0.63 individuals/ 
ha. while the 93-ha study area had 20 nests yielding 0.21 
ncsts/hu or 0.42 individuuls/ha. These nest densities are 
higher than previously reported in the literature for 
comparable stands, indicating a large influx of nesting 
woodpeckers post-fire. High nesting densities in this 
study may have resulted from: (I) optimal timing of the 
lire for wood-boring beetle exploitation of burned trees. 
(2) the discrete nature of burned habitat in the study due 
io impacts of salvage logging, or (3) our focus on regions 
01 'he bum where high nesting densities occurred, as the 
entire burned area (404 ha) was not included in nest 
density calculations. Received 23 April 2010. Accepted 
2S December 2010. 
The distribution of Black-backed Woodpeckers 
1 Picoides arcticus) in the Upper Peninsula of 
Michigan is limited to relict glacial depression 
hogs, and boreal outwash plains occupying 7.3% of 
Michigan’s total forest area, widely interspersed 
within the ubiquitous deciduous forest matrix 
•Dickman and Leefers 2003). Black-backed Wood¬ 
peckers occur at low densities in these habitats and 
are irregularly detected; there were only 10 
36311 U.S. Highway 41. Chasseil. Ml 49916. USA. 
1020 Alloucz. Road. Marquette. Ml 49855, USA. 
Corresponding author: e-mail:murphnj@up.net 
confirmed breeding records in seven Upper 
Peninsula counties during Michigan’s Breeding 
Bird Atlas of 1983-1988 (Evers 1991). However, 
Black-backed Woodpeckers have been shown to 
increase seven-fold in density and abundance 
following sporadic occurrence of wildfire (Dixon 
and Saab 2000). This led Hutto (1995) to propose 
burns may be source habitats and unbumed forests 
may be sinks. This implies: (I) bums favor 
maximum reproductive performance, (2) newly 
augmented populations disperse from a burn 
following depiction of burn resources, and (3) 
populations wait out a “stasis-period” at low 
densities in sub-optimal, unburned forests, until a 
new fire prompts immigration to new high-quality 
habitat. Nappi and Drapeau (2009) found that 
nesting densities and abundance peak in the second 
year post-fire and rapidly decline alter (he third 
year because saproxylic insects used as prey 
require recently dead trees. This suggests an 
ephemeral relationship where fire, wood-boring 
insects, and woodpeckers peak and wane in accord. 
On 29 April 2007, a controlled bum set 2 days 
previously in the Ottawa National Forest of Upper 
Michigan escaped control and heavily burned 
—404 ha of mature jack pine (Pinus banksiana), 
mixed jack-red (P. resinosa)-vt\\i\c pine (P. 
strobus), and deciduous-coniferous forest on the 
Baraga Plains, —22 km southwest of L'Arise, Baraga 
County, Michigan (centered at 46 35’20"N and 
88 36' 56" W). We made minor explorations of a 
selected area within the entire bum in June 2007 
and increased the frequency of visits through fall 
and winter 2007-2008. We decided in March 2008 
