ORLANDO, Fla. — For years, conservation efforts at OUC’s Stanton Energy Center in east Orlando has contributed to safeguarding one of Florida’s most endangered birds — the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Federal wildlife officials now state that the species has improved sufficiently to be officially reclassified from endangered to threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The recovery effort has been aided partly by habitat management and monitoring within the 2,400-acre preserve around the energy center. This area features longleaf pine forests that serve as nesting habitats for native birds of the southeastern United States.
During nesting season, biologists carefully observe nesting cavities high in pine trees, monitoring eggs, hatchlings, and young birds.
So far this season, biologists have banded five young birds from three different nests. More chicks from three additional nests are expected to be banded in the upcoming weeks.
Today, approximately 25 red-cockaded woodpeckers live within the Stanton preserve, marking continued progress for a species once pushed to the brink by habitat loss across the Southeast.
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