Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Habitat
Woodpeckers inhabit woodlands, farmland, and suburbs.
Feeding Habits in the Wild
Woodpeckers excavate trees for a variety of insects, especially the larvae of wood-boring insects. They will also take sap from sapsucker holes and nut meats from shells that have been opened.
Preferred Feeder Types
Suet Feeders, Wire Screen Feeders with Nuts and Seeds, and Hanging Feeders with Seeds
Species Facts
In the warm months the majority of a Woodpecker’s diet consists of insects. Woodpeckers greatly benefit from backyard feeders, especially during the winter months. Woodpeckers will eat exposed fat in decomposing animal carcasses. Woodpeckers drill into soft wood to spear caterpillars and wood-boring insect larvae.
Preferred Food at the Feeder
Mealworms, Suet, Sunflower Hearts and Chips, Oil Sunflower, Roasted Peanut Chips, Cracked or Chopped Nuts, Coconut, Cracked Corn, Stripe Sunflower, Milo, Oats Groats, Rape Seed (Canola), and Dried Fruit.
Brown’s Recommended Foods