Today I saw a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers mating; the
female then flew into a freshly-made hole in a white
pine. As this was in my backyard I was quite excited
by the idea of a nesthole. Until I remembered that
this grove of white pines is slated to be cut down in
a few weeks. 

Our woods were devestated by the hurricane that hit
the Rutland Area just over one year ago. Something
like 60 pines came down all around our house. Those
that remain standing have proven to be weakened and
dangerous. One destroyed out garage just a few months
ago. As a result, we had to arrange (heartbroken) for
a local logger to remove the remaining trees,
including the nesting tree.

So, my questions... is this hole definitely a nest
hole? Do they make several like some birds or just
one?  How soon are they likely to lay the eggs? If the
tree is cut down before they lay them, will they have
time to make another hole elsewhere? Or, if I leave
this one tree standing, how long will it be till the
eggs hatch and the fledglings are gone? I'm really
uncertain as how best to proceed. It will be
inconvenient to leave the one tree up and have it
taken down alone later, but if that's the only
solution that I  guess that's what I must do.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be welcome.
Michael Thomas



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