Southern Okanagan, British Columbia
Williamson’s Sapsucker Project
About the Williamson’s Sapsucker
The Williamson’s Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) is an endangered migratory woodpecker restricted within Canada to southern British Columbia. These birds depend on mature and old-growth forest features: large-diameter trees for cavity nesting, live conifers for sap feeding, and abundant ant populations to feed their nestlings. Because timber harvesting directly alters these structures, understanding how Williamson’s Sapsuckers respond to habitat change is critical for their conservation and recovery.
Field Sites
Our field research includes two key regions in southern British Columbia: a Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir forest near the town of Princeton and a Western Larch and Douglas Fir forest near Rock Creek. These sites represent the diverse forest types and timber management practices found across the species’ Canadian range. We monitor populations across a gradient of land uses, including protected reserves, Wildlife Habitat Areas, forests harvested using habitat-retention practices (i.e., selective logging), and recently harvested stands. We compare how sapsuckers use both managed and unmanaged landscapes.
Our Research
This project evaluates whether current forestry practices effectively support Williamson’s Sapsucker breeding populations. Beyond simply detecting where birds are present, we examine whether managed forests retain the specific habitat conditions required for successful reproduction.
Using a combination of occupancy surveys, autonomous recording units (ARUs), cavity cameras, nest monitoring, and microhabitat assessments, we are investigating:
- Whether the presence of sapsuckers serves as a reliable indicator of reproductive success.
- Which specific forest structures are most strongly tied to successful nesting.
- Whether current forestry guidelines retain the habitat features Williamson’s Sapsuckers need to breed successfully
