If you think you’re hearing more tap-tap-tapping on nearby trees or while hiking through Georgia’s forests, it’s likely not your imagination. It may be the sound of once-endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers searching for insects in nearby trees.
According to Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the red-topped tappers are making a strong comeback in the state after 50 years on the US Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species list. Once down to less than 1,500 family groups in the 1970s spread from Virginia to Texas, the population has recovered to more than 7,800 family groups in 2024.
In fact, Georgia’s DNR estimates that the number of red-cockaded woodpecker family groups in Georgia alone is “well north of 1,500,” outnumbering the entire US population from the 1970s. As a result of the recovery in Georgia and elsewhere, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recently downlisted the species from “endangered” to “threatened.”
As a “threatened” species, federal protections for the red-cockaded woodpeckers remain in place, and Georgia’s DNR continues its programs to accelerate growth among the birds.