Milt Blomberg found another Black Backed Woodpecker in Stearns. Must be a banner year or maybe its because someone is willing to pursue them in some of the most inhabitable areas. Milt and I have found an unusual amount just North of Stearns in Morrison County. The same pattern follows with many totally stripped Larch Trees in confined areas within the woods. Personally, I have found three sites in Morrison with the birds and 4 more sites that has evidence of them, and more to check out. Most of the areas show trees that have been worked over in previous years so the birds have been there in prior years. But, as Milt stated he had to go back 7 times to find his latest woodpecker. A birder I know checked some of the sites and didn't find a bird so he shrugged it off and said they must have returned North already or they were only Hairy Woodpecker scrapings. My suggestion is don't give up because if you find pockets of scraped trees that show a total debarking it is going to be either a Black Backed or an American Three Toed. There is plenty of food for the two species now because of the infestation that has moved into the area, I am looking forward to doing research in the Summer to see if the birds nest in the area. According to Kevin Mauer from Cushing Minnesota he says he has seen them for years in his area. Kevin is one of those people that spend his life in the woods as a deer hunter and a concerned citizen interested in nature preservation. If anyone in the area would be considered an expert at what is out there he lives in the middle of a very remote area within the deep woods of Northern Morrison and he can track anything. I hope there are more people like Milt and Kevin who are not just happy to see the birds from the road but will actively search them out in the deeper environments.
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