Birdwatchers flock to Calgary park to catch glimpse of rare woodpecker

Birdwatchers flock to Calgary park to catch glimpse of rare woodpecker

Red-headed woodpeckers are endangered species in Canada

A local celebrity is causing a stir in the city.

Recent sightings of a red-headed woodpecker in the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary have left the local birdwatching community in a frenzy, with countless birders coming to the popular park daily to catch a glimpse of the rare bird.

Avid birder Sophia Su attended her mom's graduation ceremony at the University of Calgary and then went straight to southeast Calgary to find the woodpecker.

"My mom and sister thought it was eccentric, but they humour my interests," Su said.

"I'm trying to get 200 species by the end of the year, so every species counts."

Su had no problem finding the bird, as about a dozen photographers were pointing massive cameras at it.

"I went over and saw this really stunning flash of black and white wings," she said. "And then when I finally got a decent look at it, saw the bright red head. It was such a beautiful bird. I'm so happy."

There's a reason the red-headed woodpecker has generated so much interest: the species doesn't live anywhere near Calgary.

It's a "vagrant" species, which in the birdwatching community refers to a bird that appears outside its normal range.

Jody Allair with Birds Canada says the woodpecker, which is primarily found in southern Ontario and Manitoba with smaller numbers in Saskatchewan and Quebec, occasionally shows up in Alberta.

"Normally it's in a very sort of remote, rural place like a farmstead in the middle of nowhere," he said. "So to have one in the middle of a city is pretty fun, and hopefully it sticks around."

Allair said the woodpecker was likely drawn to Inglewood due to the bird sanctuary's mix of mature trees and open spaces, which it prefers.

"I would not be surprised if he sticks around for the summer," Allair said. "And if he does, that would be awesome."

He said the bird is likely a male looking for new nesting grounds — though "it would be a miracle" if it finds a mate in the city.

"I would encourage people to go down to Inglewood and see it," Allair said. "It won't be difficult. You just go where all the people are standing with their giant cameras."

But he said it's important to keep the bird's welfare in mind.

"I think whenever you get a celebrity bird, there is a risk of people enjoying the bird a bit too much and causing it stress," he said.

"Just enjoy the bird respectfully. Don't disturb it. Don't make it fly. Don't approach too closely. Just use some common sense and enjoy from a distance, and don't linger too long, right? The bird's just trying to do its thing."

The red-headed woodpecker has faced significant conservation challenges, with fewer than 5,000 believed to be left in Canada, according to the federal government.

It is classified as an endangered species by the Canadian government, and it's believed the population across North America dropped by 67 per cent from 1970 to 2014.

Allair said the primary struggles the red-headed woodpecker has faced are habitat loss and a decline in insect populations, which make up much of the bird's diet.

But the Inglewood woodpecker could represent good news for the species.

"We're getting a really interesting population boom of red-headed woodpecker," he said. "According to the Breeding Bird Survey trends, it's been a positive increase since about 2014 nationally, and that is mostly in the Canadian prairies."

Canada has seen an overall population increase, according to that data. There continues to be a decline in Ontario — where the bird is considered endangered at the provincial level as well — but the national population increase has largely been propelled by resurgences in Manitoba.

"If it keeps going this direction population-wise, it's possible, at least for Western Canada perhaps, it will no longer be an endangered species," Allair said.

"Perhaps it'll be downgraded, which would be a win," he said. "There's not a lot of conservation wins out there for birds, right? Most birds are in big, big, big, trouble. So, to have one that seems to be doing pretty good ... it should be celebrated."

Allair said it's likely that red-headed woodpeckers are coming up from the United States, where they're much more common, and setting up shop in southern parts of the Prairies.

"What we're probably seeing in Alberta is, if their populations are expanding in the west, and seem to be doing pretty well, we're probably reaping the benefits of that increased productivity south of the border and we're getting some of those birds now exploring," he said. "I bet these are all young males, right, that are exploring, looking for new territories.

"I hope they're successful. I would love to have more red-headed woodpeckers around, because they're pretty awesome."

Amir Said is a multimedia journalist with CBC Calgary. He is an alumnus of the University of Regina, and his award-winning work as a writer and photographer has been published by outlets across Canada, including Postmedia, The Hill Times and The Narwhal. Amir can be reached at amir.said@cbc.ca or through social media.