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Granary-Site Selection by Acorn Woodpeckers in the Willamette Valley,

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/mc87pr693

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  • The acorn woodpecker is among the most common primary cavity nesting bird of the Oregon white oak woodlands. In most of their range, acorn woodpeckers are dependent on granaries for acorn storage, yet little is known about their selection of granary sites. We compared habitat characteristics within 12 m of granary and non-granary trees at 20 acorn woodpecker colonies in Benton County, Oregon during the winter of 2001. Compared to non-granaries, granary plots consistently had greater oak basal area and shorter shrub height, and granary trees were of larger diameter. Within each of the 20 sites, oak basal area was greater near granary than non-granary trees. This, together with the selection for larger diameter granaries, suggests acorn woodpeckers are more likely to locate granaries in the immediate area of high acorn production. Increased acorn production in the vicinity of granaries is likely beneficial to the birds because minimal effort is expended in caching maximum forage. Our results shed light on granary selection at the spatial scale of the immediate area surrounding granaries and suggest factors associated with acorn woodpecker distribution at the landscape scale.
  • © 2006 by the Northwest Scientific Association
  • Keywords: Granary-Site, Melanerpes formicivorus, Woodpecker
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  • Johnson, E. M., and D. K. Rosenberg. "Granary-Site Selection by Acorn Woodpeckers in the Willamette Valley, Oregon." Northwest Science 80.3 (2006): 177-83.
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  • 80
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  • 3
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