Northern / Common Flicker
Range and Habitat:
The Northern Flicker can be found throughout most wooded regions of North America and are residents from Alaska east and south throughout the U.S. Northernmost birds are migratory. Prefers forest edges and open woodlands approaching savannas, pastures, groves, woodlots, orchards, fields, meadows, woodland clearings, forest edges, urban parks, suburban lawns, on pole or tree at forest edge or along fence rows bordering crop fields.

Food:
Unlike most other woodpeckers, Northern Flickers are primarily ground feeders although they will forage on tree trunks and limbs. The diet of the Northern Flickers consists mainly of ants but also take other insects and some fruit, seeds, and berries. They need some open area and do not nest in thick forests, but they breed in most other forest types.

Nesting:
Nesting box should be completely filled with wood chips or shavings with the entrance hole facing southeast. Box height placement from ground: 6-20 feet. Shop for Northern Flicker bird houses at Northern or Common Flicker Bird Houses.

Common Flicker:

Range and Habitat:
The Northern Flicker can be found throughout most wooded regions of North America and are residents from Alaska east and south throughout the U.S. birds in the most northern regions of their range are are migratory. They require some open area and do not nest in the center of thick forests but breed in almost all other forest types. Outside of the breeding season they also are regular visitors to other open areas. Flickers prefer woodland edges and open woodlands approaching open areas, savannas, pastures, orchards, fields, meadows, forest clearings, urban parks, suburban lawns or along fence rows bordering crop fields. Northern Flickers can be found throughout most wooded areas of North America, and they are familiar birds in most suburban environments.

Diet:
Unlike most other woodpeckers, Northern Flickers are primarily ground feeders although they will forage on tree trunks and limbs probing with their bill, also sometimes catching insects in flight. The diet of the Northern Flickers consists mainly of ants but also take other insects and some fruit, seeds, and berries. Ants alone may make up 45% of their diet.
They have a behavior known as anting, during which they use the acid from the ants to help in preening, as it is effective in keeping them free of parasites.

Attracting to feeders: Suet, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, fruit, meat, and bread. Fruit: apples, blueberries, cherries, plums, raspberries, strawberries.

Nesting:
Their breeding habitat is forested areas across North America and as far south as Central America. Flickers prefer to nest in dead trees. Both sexes excavate a cavity from 10 to 90 feet above the ground, taking approximately 1 to 2 weeks to build the nest. If natural cavities are available, the Flicker will select one of these as an alternative of creating one of its own. They can be attracted nest in man made houses. In regions where cavities are in short supply, Flickers will compete with other cavity nesters such as Starlings, Kestrels, and other species of woodpeckers. The nest has no nesting materials but the chips are left at the bottom of the hole to make a bed. Generally 6 to 8 eggs are laid, with a shell that is solid white with a smooth surface and high sheen. The eggs are the second largest of the North American woodpecker species, surpassed only by the Pileated Woodpecker’s. Eggs are incubated by both parents and hatch in about 12 days. The young are fed by regurgitation and depart the nest about 25 to 28 days after hatching. They are sometimes driven from nesting sites by European Starlings.

Shop for Northern Flicker bird houses at Northern or Common Flicker Bird Houses.

Red headed woodpeckers are among our favorite backyard birds. They are a beautiful member of the woodpecker family and a welcomed guest in a garden habitat.

Range: Red-headed Woodpeckers range from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast, east of the Rocky Mountains and west of New England. The home range of red-headed woodpeckers varies from year to year, depending on food availability. Their migration habits seem to depend on the availability of winter foods, in particular acorns and beech nuts. During most years, birds from the northern parts of the breeding range move southward in winter.

Diet: Red-headed woodpeckers are among the most omnivorous woodpecker species and about half of their diet consists of vegetable food. a diet which includes insects, beetles, ants, and grasshoppers, spiders, earthworms, nuts, seeds, berries, fruit and occasionally small mammals. They are known to eat young or eggs from the nests of bluebirds, house sparrows and chickadees.

Unlike other woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers rarely drill holes to find insects. While they will sometimes do this, flying insects are more important to their diet. They will often fly out from a perch after flying insects or drop to the ground to capture prey. Like their relative the acorn woodpecker, the red-headed woodpecker will store winter food in crevices, cracks and naturally occurring holes. They do not make their own holes for storing food - if a bit of nut will not fit into a crevice, red-headed woodpeckers break the nut into pieces rather than modifying the crevice make the food fit inside. Sometimes they seal their caches with chips of wood or twigs in order to hide it from scavengers. Red-headed woodpeckers will also store large insects or beetles for short periods.

Habitat: They are birds of wooded savannas, open woodlands, open country farms, park like woodlands, golf courses, orchards, suburbia and agricultural lands. They like open agricultural and orchards areas in particular with dead and dying trees, areas with open undergrowth and places where they may forage the ground. In the East, old mature woodlots with some undergrowth as well as suburbs and agricultural areas are typical redhead habitats, whereas in the South, clearings with tall stumps are used.They are uncommon throughout much of their range, and most abundant in open forests of the Midwest. Once a common bird throughout much of the Northeast, the red-headed woodpecker has declined with competition from European Starlings for nesting sites.

Average Lifespan: 9 years in wild

Size: 19-23 cm (7-9 in)

Wingspan: 42 cm (17 in)

Weight: 56-91 g (1.98-3.21 ounces)

Nesting: 4-5 white eggs in a cavity dwelling in trees, telephone poles, fence posts. The nest has no lining. The males red-headed woodpecker excavates a nest cavity in a barkless, dead tree trunk or limb 6′ to 75′ above ground. Both sexes share in the incubation and feeding of baby birds, with the females increasingly assuming the task as the nestlings grow older. At this time the male will sometimes begin another excavation for a second brood.

For a bird house designed specifically for red headed woodpeckers, see the box below. We can not speak from personal experience as we have not had red headed woodpeckers nest on our property (we wish!) however, this house is designed by a company we respect, made from materials and a design we have had great success with for other bird species. It features good drainage, ventilation and an entrance guard to keep down wood damage when woodpeckers drum. This particular bird house is designed to be suited for three species of woodpeckers: the Hairy, Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

Red Headed Woodpecker House

The red-headed woodpecker is a cavity dwelling bird known to use man made bird houses and nesting boxes. Thy can be driven off from their natural nesting sites in dead trees by aggressive European Starlings, so if you place boxes specifically for red-headed woodpeckers, monitor them and remove any starling nests. Placing bird houses for red-headed woodpeckers helps conservation efforts due to the decline of their natural nesting sites.

Attracting Red-Headed Woodpecker

Plants: Dogwood, serviceberry, tupelo, holly, mountain ash, strawberry, grapes, bayberry, cherry, blueberries, apples, mulberry, brambles and elderberries.

At a Bird Feeder: Black oil sunflower seed and suet bird food are best used to attract red-headed woodpeckers. Sometimes they will feed on grapes, raisins or apples. Use these on an open platform feeder for seeds and fruit, and a suet feeder for suets for best results.

Summary: Attract Red Headed Woodpeckers with suet, black oil sunflower seed on platform feeders, fruits and berries, bird houses and dead trees if you can leave them on property.

Red-headed woodpeckers are protected under the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act. They are listed as a near-threatened species by the IUCN.

This is not a bird that we personally see any more so please, if you have them, leave us a comment let us know about it! Tell us if they visit backyard feeders, what they eat at a feeder and if they have ever nested in a man made box on your property. It will help the next visitor who comes along. We miss the red headed woodpeckers that used to visit us quite a bit.