Woodpeckers and Forest Fires

A forest fire roars along a mountain slope once green with spruce and pines, ignited by a lightning strike late in a Northwest summer. Once the fire has run its course, acres of blackened trunks stand silently against the blue sky. But by next summer, woodpeckers have discovered the charred forest and the feast of insects it provides. The Black-backed Woodpecker - like this female - comes closest to being a burnt-forest specialist. It will even form loose nesting colonies in recent burns.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

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