SUMMERTIME HOME RANGE AND HABITAT USE OF PILEATED WOODPECKERS IN WESTERN OREGON

Current allocations of habitat for pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) on National Forests in the western United States may be inadequate because of previous methods used to calculate this species' home range. Hence, we used radio telemetry to determine home ranges (n = 11) and habitat use (n = 14) of pileated woodpeckers in the Coast Ranges of western Oregon during the summers of 1982-85. Home ranges for individual adult birds, after young had fledged, averaged 478 ha. Home ranges for pairs were larger. Home ranges were larger than those reported in other studies. Pileated woodpeckers preferred (P < 0.05) forest vegetation classes that were older than 40 years and deciduous riparian habitats for foraging and other diurnal activities more than classes that were younger than 40 years. Nesting and roosting occurred only in forest stands older than 70 years. The amount of foraging habitat within the home ranges averaged 310 ha; whereas the amount of nesting and roosting habitat averaged 225 ha. Because pileated woodpeckers forage in immature forests, they may not be good management indicator species for mature and old-growth forest habitats.