A male Williamson's sapsucker about to go into his nest (hole to the left him). He has a beak full of ants to feed his young. Photo: Olivia Wilson
Why study the Williamson's sapsucker?
The Williamson's sapsucker are a migratory medium sized woodpecker and are considered Endangered under Canada's Species at Risk Act. They are found at medium elevations (~800–1200m) in the southern portion of British Columbia, Canada. While they also occur in the United States, their range in Canada is very limited to 3 main areas of occupancy (East Kootney, Western, and Okanagan-Boundary) that provide habitat that is at the right elevation and has remaining old growth forest. Only 8% of this critical habitat is protected. This means in Canada there is a very limited habitat left for Williamson's sapsuckers to raise their young and survive, and this remaining critical habitat is currently under threat to industrial logging practices. In Canada, each Species at Risk has a recovery strategy, which is a document that provides guidance on how to increase a species' population and prevent it from becoming extirpated or extinct. In the recovery strategy for Williamson's sapsuckers, it is predicted that if drastic measures are not taken the Williamson's sapsucker's populations may reach a critical tipping point of no return by 2035. That means the echoing drums and calls of the Williamson's sapsucker may be gone forever from the southern Ponderosa Pine and Larch forests in southern British Columbia.
Time is of the essence, but stopping logging completely, while beneficial for the sapsuckers, is not entirely feasible. Our team are thus, focusing our research on identifying what a happy medium between logging and providing habitat for Williamson's sapsuckers could look like. Past research suggests that current habitat protections may not be enough, and without action Williamson’s sapsuckers may follow the fate of the spotted owl in Canada and become critically endangered or even extirpated in Canada within the next 10 to 20 years.
PhD student (Tory Hartly-Cox) is co-leading this research.
The Williamson's sapsucker are a migratory medium sized woodpecker and are considered Endangered under Canada's Species at Risk Act. They are found at medium elevations (~800–1200m) in the southern portion of British Columbia, Canada. While they also occur in the United States, their range in Canada is very limited to 3 main areas of occupancy (East Kootney, Western, and Okanagan-Boundary) that provide habitat that is at the right elevation and has remaining old growth forest. Only 8% of this critical habitat is protected. This means in Canada there is a very limited habitat left for Williamson's sapsuckers to raise their young and survive, and this remaining critical habitat is currently under threat to industrial logging practices. In Canada, each Species at Risk has a recovery strategy, which is a document that provides guidance on how to increase a species' population and prevent it from becoming extirpated or extinct. In the recovery strategy for Williamson's sapsuckers, it is predicted that if drastic measures are not taken the Williamson's sapsucker's populations may reach a critical tipping point of no return by 2035. That means the echoing drums and calls of the Williamson's sapsucker may be gone forever from the southern Ponderosa Pine and Larch forests in southern British Columbia.
Time is of the essence, but stopping logging completely, while beneficial for the sapsuckers, is not entirely feasible. Our team are thus, focusing our research on identifying what a happy medium between logging and providing habitat for Williamson's sapsuckers could look like. Past research suggests that current habitat protections may not be enough, and without action Williamson’s sapsuckers may follow the fate of the spotted owl in Canada and become critically endangered or even extirpated in Canada within the next 10 to 20 years.
PhD student (Tory Hartly-Cox) is co-leading this research.
Williamson's sapsucker field crew walking through an old growth forest. Photo by Amy Howell
What are old growth forests and why are they so important for the Williamson's sapsuckers?
People often have perceptions that in old-growth and mature forests every single tree is hundreds of years old, maybe even thousands. Or they think that an old growth forest is only found in the wet coastal regions of BC. But that is not the case. Old growth and mature forests can occur in any type of forest, but the age at which a forest is considered old growth or mature can vary widely depending on historical fire cycles and tree decay rates. Old growth and mature forests before western colonization used to be the norm now they are rare. This is unfortunate because they are so valuable and important for so many animals because they have structural variation (basically trees of different ages) with typically very little understory (this also helps with fire resiliency). Old growth Ponderosa Pine forests in British Columbia are layered in a matrix of very few ancient trees that are several hundreds of years old (e.g. 300+ years), intermixed with a high density of middle-aged trees (100 or 200 years old), and some pockets of dense understory or earlier successional patches with lots of fallen logs. These patches are often formed when a old trees falls naturally or a wind storm comes through and downs a bunch of trees. When a tree falls a gap in the canopy is created and light and nutrients are added to the soil from the decaying wood creating the perfect environment for new vegetation to thrive. For Williamson's sapsuckers, they nest in the ancient trees, forage on sap on the middle aged trees (yes sapsuckers love sweet drinks too), and rely on the downed trees to suck up ants and ant larvae in the decaying wood. For Williamson's sapsuckers, an old growth forest is like a city where they have their house in an ancient tree, their grocery story on the middle aged trees, and their kid's grocery store on dead and decaying downed trees in the successional patches. When one of these critical pieces of infrastructure is missing Williamson's sapsuckers may not be able to survive (they could starve), they may be forced to venture farther distances for food (they become susceptible to predation), or they simply cannot find a suitable real estate to raise their young.
For many Species at Risk, there are what are called Best Management Practices (BMPs), which basically means that there are guidelines on how to best manage a species habitat to reduce the impacts of human-based activities and disturbances. There are BMPs for Williamson's sapsucker, but they are rarely followed and they have not been tested to determine if they are actually helping Williamson's sapsuckers or causing harm by creating what we call an ecological trap. An ecological trap, is where birds perceive a habitat is really good, but in reality the it is actually quite poor. This is referred to as a mismatch between what an animal perceives is suitable habitat and what is actually suitable. The result is often lower survival of the adult and their young.
People often have perceptions that in old-growth and mature forests every single tree is hundreds of years old, maybe even thousands. Or they think that an old growth forest is only found in the wet coastal regions of BC. But that is not the case. Old growth and mature forests can occur in any type of forest, but the age at which a forest is considered old growth or mature can vary widely depending on historical fire cycles and tree decay rates. Old growth and mature forests before western colonization used to be the norm now they are rare. This is unfortunate because they are so valuable and important for so many animals because they have structural variation (basically trees of different ages) with typically very little understory (this also helps with fire resiliency). Old growth Ponderosa Pine forests in British Columbia are layered in a matrix of very few ancient trees that are several hundreds of years old (e.g. 300+ years), intermixed with a high density of middle-aged trees (100 or 200 years old), and some pockets of dense understory or earlier successional patches with lots of fallen logs. These patches are often formed when a old trees falls naturally or a wind storm comes through and downs a bunch of trees. When a tree falls a gap in the canopy is created and light and nutrients are added to the soil from the decaying wood creating the perfect environment for new vegetation to thrive. For Williamson's sapsuckers, they nest in the ancient trees, forage on sap on the middle aged trees (yes sapsuckers love sweet drinks too), and rely on the downed trees to suck up ants and ant larvae in the decaying wood. For Williamson's sapsuckers, an old growth forest is like a city where they have their house in an ancient tree, their grocery story on the middle aged trees, and their kid's grocery store on dead and decaying downed trees in the successional patches. When one of these critical pieces of infrastructure is missing Williamson's sapsuckers may not be able to survive (they could starve), they may be forced to venture farther distances for food (they become susceptible to predation), or they simply cannot find a suitable real estate to raise their young.
For many Species at Risk, there are what are called Best Management Practices (BMPs), which basically means that there are guidelines on how to best manage a species habitat to reduce the impacts of human-based activities and disturbances. There are BMPs for Williamson's sapsucker, but they are rarely followed and they have not been tested to determine if they are actually helping Williamson's sapsuckers or causing harm by creating what we call an ecological trap. An ecological trap, is where birds perceive a habitat is really good, but in reality the it is actually quite poor. This is referred to as a mismatch between what an animal perceives is suitable habitat and what is actually suitable. The result is often lower survival of the adult and their young.
A successional area of an old growth forest. Photo: Amy Howell
How is our research helping Williamson's sapsuckers?
We are using innovative 3D habitat mapping technology, specialized cameras, and advanced audio equipment to capture sneak peaks into the lives of Williamson’s sapsuckers to determine: are we doing enough to save the Williamson’s sapsucker and if not what can be done to save them?
More specifically we are evaluating whether forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) support the recovery of Williamson’s Sapsucker.
Why is this research important?
Understanding the effectiveness of BMPs is critical for species recovery and forest management. Most Williamson’s Sapsucker habitat lies outside of protected areas and remains vulnerable to harvest. If BMPs are effective, they offer a practical balance between conservation and forestry. If not, stronger protections will be needed. This research is unique in combining two decades of nest monitoring with new fieldwork and LiDAR-based habitat data, providing the first systematic test of whether BMPs maintain high-quality habitat. The results will guide adjustments to BMPs, inform the expansion of Wildlife Habitat Areas, and ensure management practices contribute to the long-term persistence of Williamson’s Sapsucker in Canada.
How the research is done
Fieldwork focuses on monitoring nest success across protected, unprotected, and logged forests. Adult sapsuckers are located each spring using call-playback surveys, and active nests are monitored throughout the breeding season. Visual checks, Bluetooth-enabled "peeper" cameras (see image below), and autonomous recording units (ARUs) provide accurate counts of eggs and nestlings while minimizing disturbance. At the same time, habitat characteristics are measured at the nest tree, immediate nesting area, and home-range scales, supplemented with LiDAR-derived forest structure data. These new data, combined with 20 years of historical records, will refine habitat suitability models and support scenario modelling to project how different tree-retention strategies affect future nesting habitat availability.
We are using innovative 3D habitat mapping technology, specialized cameras, and advanced audio equipment to capture sneak peaks into the lives of Williamson’s sapsuckers to determine: are we doing enough to save the Williamson’s sapsucker and if not what can be done to save them?
More specifically we are evaluating whether forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) support the recovery of Williamson’s Sapsucker.
Why is this research important?
Understanding the effectiveness of BMPs is critical for species recovery and forest management. Most Williamson’s Sapsucker habitat lies outside of protected areas and remains vulnerable to harvest. If BMPs are effective, they offer a practical balance between conservation and forestry. If not, stronger protections will be needed. This research is unique in combining two decades of nest monitoring with new fieldwork and LiDAR-based habitat data, providing the first systematic test of whether BMPs maintain high-quality habitat. The results will guide adjustments to BMPs, inform the expansion of Wildlife Habitat Areas, and ensure management practices contribute to the long-term persistence of Williamson’s Sapsucker in Canada.
How the research is done
Fieldwork focuses on monitoring nest success across protected, unprotected, and logged forests. Adult sapsuckers are located each spring using call-playback surveys, and active nests are monitored throughout the breeding season. Visual checks, Bluetooth-enabled "peeper" cameras (see image below), and autonomous recording units (ARUs) provide accurate counts of eggs and nestlings while minimizing disturbance. At the same time, habitat characteristics are measured at the nest tree, immediate nesting area, and home-range scales, supplemented with LiDAR-derived forest structure data. These new data, combined with 20 years of historical records, will refine habitat suitability models and support scenario modelling to project how different tree-retention strategies affect future nesting habitat availability.
Field team "peeping" in a Williamson's sapsucker nest in an old aspen tree. We use long telescoping poles with a custom built camera attached to the end to get a sneak peek into cavity nests. This allows us to identify how many eggs, or young the parent sapsuckers are raising. Photo: Rachel Foster