You have to be a certain age to understand why an odd laugh — ha ha ha HAA ha — echoed in my mind as I read an invitation to see a red-headed woodpecker up close on Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in East Bethel.

Remember Woody, that loony red-headed star of the early cartoon era? He faded from television a few years ago. I can’t believe that crazed laugh still is stuck in my mind along with the image of his flaming red, bug-eyed head.

Woody endures in video games, classic cartoon DVD sets and an occasional cameo appearance.

Sadly, the real red-headed woodpecker has no ready alternative venues. And it’s declining at an alarming rate. 

Once, the colorful bird was very common in the United States and Canada. But its numbers have plummeted by more than half since 1966.

The reasons for the dramatic drop are not fully understood. One likely factor is that the woodpeckers’ preferred habitats — dead trees in open, deciduous woods or grassland savannas — are vanishing. Woodpeckers build nests in cavities in dead trees, and they need open, grassy areas for swooping down on insects.

If you’re lucky, though, you still can see the distinctive birds — black and white bodies contrasting brilliantly with the flaming red heads — in parks and golf courses. They are willing to nest in populated areas as long as they can find dead trees and grass.

And they aren’t as fearful of humans as many birds. Like Woody, they’re very assertive.

The one nearby spot that offers the best chance of seeing them is the Cedar Creek reserve. Recently returned from winter homes in the south, red-headed woodpeckers there are finding mates and setting up nesting cavities in trees. Last year bird watchers counted nearly 50 of them at Cedar Creek. It is the state’s largest breeding population of the increasingly scarce birds.

Mary Spivey, the reserve’s education coordinator, said chances are very high that visitors will see one or more on Saturday, May 8.

Expert guides will be on hand to lead visitors in the 5,400-acre reserve and to answer questions about efforts to recover the species.

The reserve is located at 2660 Fawn Lake Drive, East Bethel. Tours are to run between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. from the Lindeman Research and Discovery Center on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are required for groups of five or more and for those who need van transportation to the nesting sites. You can call (763) 434-5131 to get reservations or ask questions. Walking shoes and binoculars are recommended. Since capacity is limited, it may not be possible to accommodate late arrivals.

More information about the reserve is available here. 

If you see me there, please do not shout “ha ha ha HAA ha.” I’m trying to get that insane ditty out of my head.