Piney Grove � Science Seminar Lecture 6
Sussex County
(and Surry)
Temperate
Deciduous Forest
Adam’s Store
Piney Grove Nature Preserve & Big Woods Management Area
Adam’s Store
Piney Grove Nature Preserve:
Mature Pine Savannah
Why is it different from other forests?
There are two main reasons:
2. No logging- the mature pines are not cut down
The Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Picoides borealis
The Red Cockaded Woodpecker
but also eats fruits/seeds
Other Names
These woodpeckers are very particular about their nests…
The spend up to two years digging a hole in a living pine tree that is infected with “red-heart fungus.”
They peck the wood around and below the hole so the tree leaks a yellowish sap. The sap prevents snakes from getting to the nest.
North
East
West
South
50ft
40ft
30ft
20ft
10ft
Position of Nest
These woodpeckers nest in familial colonies of 8-12 birds.
Only one pair breeds in a colony.
All the birds in the colony help feed and care for the young.
Banding of birds for future identification
Banding of birds for future identification
A baby Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Their numbers in Virginia are increasing because of the work of The Nature Conservancy and their work in Piney Grove, Sussex.
A 2017 Census of the population counted 13 breeding pair and 96(!!!) birds.
Because the needs of these birds is so exact, they have been in decline for many years. In 1970 they were added to the “Endangered Species List”
Even though things are improving for these birds, there is great Human Impact on the environment in Sussex County
- Development
- Farming
- Forestry
- The Landfill
- Mining