Abstract
The pine-dominated forests of Western Norway have been found to harbour viable populations of woodpeckers, including the highly specialized White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent there were any changes in frequencies of woodpeckers, in particular the White-backed Woodpecker and the Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus, by resurveying 60 plots (each 1 km2) originally surveyed during 1994/1995. The resurvey was performed in 2013/2014. The White-backed Woodpecker was found to be the most common woodpecker species in both time periods. The Grey-headed Woodpecker was found to have a statistically significant decline from 27% of the 60 plots in 1994/95 to only 12% in 2013/14. The other four species all increased in frequency; although none of those increased frequencies were found to be statistically significant. We discuss possible explanations to why pine forests in Western Norway constitute a valuable habitat for the White-backed Woodpecker at the same time as it has drastically declined in other parts of Norway and Western Europe. In general, the reduced frequency of Grey-headed Woodpecker is not fully understood, although we suggest that cold winters during the years prior to the surveys in 2013/14 may be an important factor.
Highlights
Forest bird species have recently been found to show highly varying population trends in Europe (Lehikoinen & Virkkala 2018)
The aim of this study was to investigate whether there were any changes in the frequencies of woodpecker species in Western Norway between 1994/1995 and 2013/2014
In the following we will concentrate the discussion on the White-backed Woodpecker and the Grey-headed Woodpecker
Summary
Forest bird species have recently been found to show highly varying population trends in Europe (Lehikoinen & Virkkala 2018). Combined population trends for 26 forest species in Norway, Sweden and Finland show a decline of approximately 25% during 1982–2012 (Lehikoinen & Virkkala 2018). Resident species and species associated with old-growth forests show clear declines in Finland during recent decades (Lehikoinen & Virkkala 2018, Fraixedas et al 2015). The White-backed Woodpecker is extinct in large parts of Eastern Norway the species has been found to have viable populations in southern and western parts of Norway (Stenberg 2004, Gjerde et al 2005). In this area the population size has been estimated to be approximately 1700 pairs (Stenberg 2004). It is of interest to present new data on the frequency of White-backed Woodpecker and other woodpeckers from recent years to compare with earlier data
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