The woodpecker finch (Camarhynchus pallidus) is an unusual species of Darwin's finch found only on the Galápagos Islands, where it ecologically replaces the woodpeckers that are absent there. Woodpecker finches behave in many ways like real woodpeckers: they climb around on trunks and branches and peck holes in them to get at the insects hidden there. However, while real woodpeckers need their long tongues to reach the insects in the holes, woodpecker finches lack such long tongues and therefore use tools instead. They take small twigs or cactus spines in their beaks and use them to extract their food from the holes.
Liberation of Pinzón Island
Unfortunately, counts carried out in recent years by Birgit Fessl, coordinator of the Galápagos Land Bird Conservation Plan at the Charles Darwin Research Station, have shown that the populations of this finch species are declining.
The reasons for this are invasive species such as house rats and parasitic flies. On Pinzón Island, rats in particular caused the woodpecker finch and other endemic species to become extinct. The rats also contributed to the Pinzón giant tortoises becoming unable to reproduce because they ate all the young pink iguanas.
For this reason, the Galápagos National Park Authority decided to rid the island of invasive house rats. In 2014, Pinzón Island was declared “rat-free.” Since then, the island's ecosystem has changed significantly. After 150 years, there are finally surviving young pink iguanas again, and bird species that had disappeared, such as the cactus finch and the Galápagos rail, have returned to Pinzón.
Return of the Woodpeckers
The return of the woodpeckers is intended to further advance the ecological restoration of the island. To this end, birds are being captured from a large, healthy population on the island of Santa Cruz and housed in a quarantine aviary. After their quarantine period, the finches will be released on Pinzón in an area where other bird species have already settled and which suits their lifestyle. This year, 33 woodpeckers have already been relocated to their new home on Pinzón.
An expedition will search for the finches to determine how many of the birds have settled on the island and whether some of them may have flown back to Santa Cruz. Another group of researchers will observe the woodpeckers that have settled on Pinzón during the breeding season and equip some of them with transmitters to detect any migration. The information obtained in this way will determine how and where the next woodpeckers will be released.
Help us to reintroduce woodpeckers to their former home.
