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Bird Sightings Excite Waterfall Glen Crew

Last July, ecologist Scott Meister spotted a pair of red-headed woodpeckers in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, only months after contractors for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County had wrapped up a major habitat restoration push in the area. Four months later, a pair of pileated woodpeckers took up residence in a dead tree. Both birds are uncommon in the region, and the red-headed woodpecker is in steep decline throughout much of its breeding range.

It is highly likely that the newly restored habitat attracted the red-headed woodpeckers, says Meister, who has been keeping an eye on plant and animal life following the restoration. “There is a possibility that the pileated would have recolonized the area regardless of the restoration, since it’s increasing statewide, but we hope that our efforts do provide a better habitat. The red-heads are in more dire straits.”

Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey reports that red-headed woodpecker populations fell in Illinois by 5.6 percent between 1980 and 2006. The species breeds in open woodlands, savannas, and open wooded swamps, all of which are disappearing throughout Illinois.

This recent project, nearly half completed, aims to restore ecological health to 780 acres of the 2,474-acre preserve. It focuses on the site’s high-quality native bluff savannas, which overlook the Des Plaines River. Crews remove herbaceous invasive species, such as honeysuckle, crown vetch, and buckthorn, followed by controlled burns and herbicide to ensure that these plants don’t resprout. In order to completely restore the preserve, contractors are seeding cleared sections, planting native shrubs, and working on restoring the “ecotones,” or transition areas, between the savanna and the remnant prairies.

Birdwatchers are enjoying the results. “Once you get some of that undergrowth removed that’s nonnative, it’s easier to get around to try and see the birds; but secondly, it opens things up so they’re more likely to be attracted to the area,” said Mike Madsen, a volunteer bird monitor from Woodridge who watched the large and showy pileated woodpeckers pop in and out of a hole in a tree.

“They’re very uncommon up here, but hopefully as they’re doing more of this restoration, maybe we’ll see more of them moving in.”

In the meantime, those involved anxiously await the upcoming spring, when they’ll be able to see whether these woodpeckers will start new families.

— Katie Chelminski