GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus)

Species Code: PIAR
This is an "at risk" species

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Compare range maps with other woodpeckers

Map with Breeding Bird Atlas records

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

This species was uncommon in moderate- and high-elevation, open-canopy east-side conifer forests; were also locally uncommon in burns at lower elevations in pine forests. They were rare in western Washington at high elevations along the Cascade crest. In the Blue Mountains, they were uncommon at high elevations.

Core areas of use were east-side zones above Ponderosa Pine. Peripheral areas of use were in Ponderosa Pine and west of the crest in Mountain Hemlock, Sub-alpine Fir, and Alpine/Parkland. Good habitats in core forested zones were conifer forests and forest openings; in the Alpine/Parkland zone, conifer patches and parkland were good; and in the Ponderosa Pine zone, conifer forests were good.

Though this species prefers burns, the Black-backed Woodpecker also utilizes open meadows in forested landscapes and diseased tree stands; Grand Fir trees with root rot are especially favored in the southern Cascades. Recent extensive burns in Chelan, Okanogan, and Ferry Counties have substantially increased the amount of suitable habitat available for this species, and will probably result in increased numbers for at least a decade. At higher elevations, this species occurs in a wider variety of open forested habitats.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester