Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Holes

Woodpeckers are most commonly known for chipping holes in houses and dead trees, not in living forests. However, the redcockaded woodpecker (RCW) nests in old, living pine trees. Most of the time damage from RCW nesting is not serious.

The RCW, Picoides borealis, is an endangered species found year-round throughout the Southeast, including north and central Florida. They live in old-growth pine forests usually in national forests, wildlife refuges, state lands, and military bases. Each RCW lives in its own nest hole in a tree. RCWs nest in living trees that have heartrot, a disease that decays the heartwood of pines, making it easier to create a hole. RCWs can cause minimal damage by repeatedly pecking the tree around their nest to cause resin from the tree to flow and coat the tree around the hole. The resin discourages predators like snakes from getting to a RCW's hole.

Identifying Characteristics
Identifying the injury:	RCW holes are 2-3 inches in diameter. Trees with active nest holes are easily identified because of the whitish resin coating the bark around the hole. These trees with active nest holes are called "candle trees" because the resin resembles dripping candle wax. Hot forest fires can cause the resin to burn the outside of the tree.
Susceptible species:	RCWs prefer longleaf pines that are at least 85 years old. In some areas, RCWs will use pine trees as young as 50 or 60 years old.