Southwestern Association of Naturalists
Autumnal Breeding Acorn Woodpeckers in Southern New Mexico
Author(s): Jack F. Cully, Jr.
Source: The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Sep. 28, 1987), p. 399
Published by: Southwestern Association of Naturalists
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3671463 .
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September 1987
399
Notes
AUTUMNAL BREEDING ACORN WOODPECKERS IN
SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
On 26 September 1983, I located two nests with begging young acorn woodpeckers,
(Melanerpesformicivorous)at Turkey Run Canyon in the Black Range, TIIS, RO1W,Sec. 23,
Sierra Co., New Mexico. The first nest was in a Gambel's oak (Quercusgambelii) at 2,072 m
elevation. Based on the calls, at least two young were in the nest although I did not see them.
The second nest was in a ponderosapine (Pinus ponderosa),that also servedas a granerytree,
about 100m east of the first nest. At this nest, I was again able to hear but not see nestlings. Two
or more adults delivered food to this nest while I watched. There were two additional acorn
woodpeckersattendingthe granerystoresin this tree.
Nestling acorn woodpeckersusually come to the nest opening at about 1 week prior to fledging
(P. B. Stacey, pers. comm.), so these nestlings were at least a week away from fledging. P. B.
Stacey (pers. comm.) has recordedacorn woodpeckersfledging in New Mexico as late as 6
Septemberin the MagdalenaMountains 75 km to the north. The two nests that I found were
nearly a month later than Stacey'srecord.In California, Myers(1915) reportedone nest in Los
Angeles that fledged young on 25 to 26 Septemberand anothernest with nestlings being fed on
19 October.Koenig et al. (in press)observedfive autumn nesting attemptsin central California;
threehad first egg dates in August, and two in September.The five attemptsoccurredin 2 years,
each with a heavy autumn acorn crop. They attributedthe proximatecues for the fall breeding
that they observedto the presenceof abundantacorns. In 1983, the crop of acorns in the Black
Range was enormous,with densitieson the ground underoaks exceeding 100/m2.This abundant
food may have stimulatedautumnal breeding in a manner similar to that describedfor pinyon
jays (Ligon, 1971)and band-tailedpigeons (Gutierrezet al., 1975)in southwesternNew Mexico.
I thank J. P. Hubbard,W. D. Koenig, J. D. Ligon, and P. B. Staceyfor their commentson this
note.
LITERATURECITED
R. J., C. E. BRAUN,and T. P. ZAPATKA.1975. Reproductive biology of the bandGUTIERREZ,
tailed pigeon in Coloradoand New Mexico. Auk, 92:665-677.
KOENIG,W. D., R. L. MUMME, AND F. A. PITELKA. In press.
Population
ecology of the
cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker. Univ. Princeton Press, Princeton, New
Jersey.
LIGON, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piion jay in New Mexico. Condor,73:147-153.
H. W. 1915. A late nesting recordfor the Californiawoodpecker. Condor, 17:183-185.
MYERS,
JACKF. CULLY, JR., Dept. of Biol., Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
SUCCESSION IN TREE PITS FOLLOWING CABLING IN
PINYON-JUNIPER COMMUNITIES
Pinyon-juniperwoodlandsof the United Stateshave increasedin extent and tree density since
European settlement (West et al., 1975; Springfield, 1976). With this increase, a concomitant
decreasein herbageproduction has led land managersto manipulate these woodlands (Arnold
and Schroeder,1955;Johnson, 1962).Cabling or chaining has been one of the most widely used
techniques (Aro, 1972; Scifres, 1980). Many researchershave reported on plant community
responsefollowing cabling, but few have reportedwhat happensin pits left by uprootedtrees.
Lutz (1940)and Armsonand Fessenden(1973)reportedthe effectsof tree uprooting by wind on
soil propertiesand morphology. Stephens (1956) found that the pit profile gradually became
similar to the adjacentundisturbedsoil profile over a period of 450 to 500 years.The objectiveof
the present study was to examine establishmentof understoryspecies in tree pits caused by
cabling pinyon-juniper communities.
The study area was locatedon the Fort Stanton ExperimentalRanch and the adjacentLincoln
National Forestin the SacramentoMountainsof south-centralNew Mexico. The area had cool,