Lewis's Woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
Synopsis:
Nests in cavities in larger trees, in open woodlands mostly east of
the Cascade crest and also in oaks in southwestern
Oregon. Formerly nested in Willamette and Umpqua Valleys and may still
do so on rare occasions. Disperses widely in mid-
summer. Most notable are the records from Polk, Coos, Sherman, Gilliam,
Morrow, northern Klamath, northern Lake, Harney,
and southern Malheur Counties.
Habitat Associations:
strongest
Edges of Recently Cutover/Burnt Forest (440330 acres)
strong
Ponderosa Pine-dominant Mixed Conifer Forest (146864 acres)
Jeffery Pine Forest/Woodland (22708 acres)
Ponderosa Pine Forest/Woodland (2544547 acres)
Ponderosa Pine/White Oak Forest & Woodland (160969 acres)
Ponderosa Pine-W. Juniper Woodland (54369 acres)
Ponderosa-Lodgepole Pine on Pumice (790397 acres)
Grassland & Fir-Ponderosa Interspersed (275581 acres)
Subalpine Scattered Trees & Shrubs (41542 acres)
Edges of Cropland/Pasture/Orchard (1899983 acres)
some
Lake/Pond Shoreline & Islands (286150 acres)
Western Oregon Riverine Woodland (3794 acres)
Streamside/Wetland Shrubland (500 acres)
lesser
Mountain Hemlock Montane Forest (138150 acres)
Northeast Mixed Conifer Forest (1982545 acres)
Lodgepole Pine Forest/Woodland (147647 acres)
W. Juniper Woodland (1604540 acres)
Siskiyou Mtns Shrubland on Serpentine Bedrock (7596 acres)
Manzanita-dominant Shrubland (5898 acres)
Urban/Residential (110787 acres)
Edges of Freshwater Marsh (8766 acres)
Relative Detectability:
Fairly easy to detect and to confirm nesting.
Challenge:
Confirm breeding of pairs of birds in late spring in Polk County,
Cascades, and elsewhere outside usual nesting range.