Attracting Red Headed Woodpeckers
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.
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.