Birders: Keep dead trees to attract new woodpecker here

Talk about it

The Jamestown Parks and Recreation Commission learned there’s a new bird in town at its monthly meeting Monday.

Nearly the size of a crow, the pileated woodpecker has been spotted in two Jamestown parks, according to Dan Buchanan, a representative of the birder community.

“The pileated seems to be expanding its range so seeing them in Jamestown is kind of a big deal,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan added the species to the list of birds that have been seen in Jamestown — now numbering 108.

His mission Monday was to preserve the habitat for the bird, which drills into dead, rotten wood for red ants, among other insects. There are many dead trees along rivers in Jamestown after flooding in recent years.

“We want to work with you, and these parks have all kinds of recreational, educational opportunities, and this can be one of them,” Buchanan said.

He said trees on the island in Klaus Park that once housed the old swimming pool “look like newly raised condos” for woodpeckers. One Jamestown stump also looks like a “lunch counter” for the birds that peck on insects, he said.

“If you want a field trip with Dan sometime I’d like to show you where the woodpeckers have been working on that tree stump,” Buchanan said.

Birders are a quiet group but many come to Jamestown from out of state for a few days to take the birding in, he said.

“It’s kind of an invisible population but there are a lot of them,” Buchanan said.

No vote was taken on Buchanan’s request.

After the meeting Parks and Recreation Director Doug Hogan said trees are only removed if they fall into the rivers, or pose a danger to people using the park system.

In other news, the commission unanimously agreed to repair the fences for three fields at the Hillcrest Softball Complex after the season this year.

The cost will be about $8,500 per field.

“We might as well keep it in good shape and have one area ready to go for next year,” said Commissioner Joyce Heinrich.

It passed 4-0 with commission Chair Larry Knoblich absent.

The commission also approved leasing a Kyocera printer for $288 a month for 60 months from Central Business Systems.

The new printer will allow the district the ability to create materials like the annual program book, golf scorecards, three-fold pamphlets and others.

“It looks like a top-pick as far as the machine goes, and we discussed this meeting and last meeting so it’s either we go ahead with this or drop it altogether,” said Mike Landscoot, commission vice chair.

Officers were elected for the upcoming year, with Landscoot keeping his position and Knoblich remaining the commission chair.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

Tags: news, parks, birds