A Woodpecker Reflection

I saw my first Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs) in the 1970s, in the newly organized Felsenthal NWR. Based upon what I saw there, and what I could learn from reading, I felt RCWs were heading down the same road as Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. In my early 30s, and fresh on the ecology scene, I was drawn by the drama of the bird's decline and the interesting mature pine habitat in which it lived.

In my mid-40s, I was presented with an opportunity to join a Forest Service team already at work on recovery of RCWs on the Ouachita NF in western Arkansas. In the fall of 1990, at age 44, I returned to the U of A-Fayetteville, worked on an MS in Zoology, and went to work as part of the Ouachita RCW team. That was January 1993.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker - J. Neal

In 1990, we caught and banded the RCWs on the Ouachita NF -- 32 adults. There were 12 nests that summer, with only 10 young fledged. It was a population crashing toward extinction. In 2007, there were 37 nests, 67 fledglings, and about 103 adults. The 2008 RCW nesting season is off and running, and promising. We are finding new active cavity trees and many nests already have young birds. These nests cover a wider geographic area than in 1990. It's a lot different than what I had expected in the 1970s and it is a brighter world than the one we saw in 1990. With so much bad environmental news, this is a welcome brightness.

The years have passed, 15 of them now, since I went to work full time on the Ouachita NF. I'm now in my early 60s, and on June 20, I will finish my career with the US Forest Service, all on the Ouachita NF. The woodpecker project team will continue. Because the goal is full recovery, this project will consume several more careers. I'm glad I had these years to be part of a team that includes many capable individuals.

Joe Neal

Now for a brief lament: I have never been sure that the choice I made in 1990 was really the best one for me personally, or for my family. It just seemed inevitable, considering how I felt about things. When I drove from Fayetteville, headed 110 miles south into the Ouachitas, I was pulled between natural loyalties and commitment to an idea and a passion. The better job meant I could better support my daughter Ariel and myself. In pursuit of these interests, I spent a lot of time away from my home and from Ariel's growing up. I was at work when my mother died, trying to squeeze in just one more job.

There's nothing unique here, and I make no special claims. It's just stuff I think about as I go about the task of gathering up my books and papers, and the stuff that has accumulated in the Ouachitas Mountains part of my life. I could have made other choices in 1990, but this is the path I took. It's a time for sorting and taking stock, and considering what lies ahead.

Well, of course, there will be lots more birding. There will be other ways to pursue my interest in RCWs, because this interest is undiminished after 30+ years.

JOSEPH C. NEAL, biologist (but not for long)
Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita NF
P.O. Box 2255 (1541 Highway 248 W)
Waldron, AR 72958
jneal@fs.fed.us