Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

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Abundance: Uncommon at all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts reveal an uncertain, but possibly negative, trend in the population residing in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (10 June 1938; Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 23 (14 December 2002; Putnam County, Tennessee [Cookeville CBC]; m. ob. and 23 December 2006; Cumberland County, Tennessee [Crossville CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 20 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m  ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 15 (8 May 2004; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 31 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 137 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Fairly Common and Common, respectively; the Hairy was clearly more frequently detected in Regional yards and neighborhoods during the YardWatch project than it is generally in the Region as a whole; feeding stations no doubt account for some of the increase in its occurrence in those areas.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remark: During the Regional forays, the number of Hairies counted in the blocks with the highest total individuals in each county ranged from 2 to 6, indicating the low abundance of this woodpecker; however, like the Downy, this species becomes somewhat reticent (and, thus, difficult to detect) during the breeding season and is not quite so easy to find during late spring and summer as during fall and winter.  Data from the Regional CBCs and Fall Bird Counts reveal the Hairy to be somewhat more detectible during those events than during the Spring Bird Counts (see also Regional High Count above).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited