Did you know Washington has 12 species of woodpeckers?

Sign up for a virtual program of the Whidbey Audubon Society on Thursday, Jan. 11. Jeff Kozma, a biologist with the Yakama Nation, will review key plumage and vocal characteristics needed to identify all 12 of Washingtons’ breeding woodpecker species.

Kozma will also discuss habitat and behavioral differences between the species to further aid in identification.

The online meeting begins at 7 p.m. with announcements and socializing. The program starts at 7:30. Please register to receive a Zoom link to this free event on the Whidbey Audubon Society website at whidbeyaudubonsociety.org.

Kozma has been studying the ecology of white-headed woodpeckers and other cavity-nesting birds in managed forests since 2003. He is the lead author of the “Birds of the World” account for the white-headed woodpecker. He also reviews timber sales on the ceded lands of the Yakama Nation to help protect habitat important to state and federally listed wildlife.

Kozma received his B.S. degree in Environmental Forest Biology from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse and his M.S. segree in Wildlife Science at Texas Tech University, where he studied the use of Chihuahuan Desert arroyos and adjacent uplands by migrant and breeding birds in southern New Mexico.

After graduating, he worked as a wildlife biologist at the Yakima Training Center, monitoring sage grouse, raptor, and non-game birds. He was also involved with restoration of seeps, springs, and riparian areas.

For reference, the list of 12 woodpeckers in the state include northern flicker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted sapsucker, red-naped sapsucker, Williamson’s sapsucker, three-toed woodpecker, black-backed woodpecker, American three-toed woodpecker, white-headed woodpecker and red-bellied woodpecker, which is the rarest.