June Storms create a better Oak Savanna

It has been a stormy early summer and we are managing to keep the breeding bird studies going despite Mother Nature's influence. It was a very bad storm with many people in need of a new home. With over 100 homes destroyed from this same storm, we were surprised that the woods at the Oak Opening banding site was only hit this bad. It opened up the woods to make it a better looking savanna habitat in my opinion. It made for difficult walking and it sure made for some destruction of tree nesting birds. They will have to start over.
Mark walking from net 9 to net 10 in the woods. It took 6-7 hours on a couple days for clearing net lanes and walkways. We went to check on the nets once it was okay for us to enter the area. Some big Oaks were splintered and laying every which way the wind took them.

Here is Net 10 after the storm (see the one net pole in the foreground):
After the storm, birds take no time to wait. There was a calm and quietness in the woods a day or two after the storm. However by the next banding session birds were singing all over with a greater number of Indigo Buntings and Red-headed Woodpeckers having moved in to the newly created savanna habitat.
Here is one of our catches! I have handled a few Red-headed Woodpeckers but this one was acting like a Red-bellied Woodpecker by the way it was pecking at my fingers while I took the photo.
Both sexes are the similar in appearance. This is a nice ASY bird with no molt limits on its secondaries and only one aberrant primary covert with the rest looking fresh.
Such a sharp looking bird!