Woodpeckers are very hearty eaters whose diet varies depending on the season. They are known to eat several different things and the exact foods preferred by each species vary however some of the most popular food sources include:

• Insects such as wood boring beetles, carpenter ants, termites, grub
• Tree sap or insects trapped within or attracted to the sap
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Fruits
• Berries such as blueberries, mulberries, elderberries, strawberries, holly.

Woodpeckers are very adaptive creatures and will change their diets according to what food sources are most abundant. Sap is a popular food source in the spring when few other foods are available while insects are a primary meal during sprin and summer months. Feeding on insects provides the birds with a high level of protein which is great during breeding and when fed to growing hatchlings. Nuts, fruits, and seeds are more popular during the winter months as they are plentiful from natural harvesting. Some species of woodpeckers will even store up food supplies when scarce.

Woodpeckers do not only feast upon whatever they happen to find in trees or in the wild, they have also been known to visit backyards year round. The most popular foods found in many backyard feeders or consumed within backyards include:

• Oranges
• Apples
• Peanut butter
• Meal worms
• Nectar
• Sunflower seeds
• Suet
• Fruit blends
• Nut blends
• Acorns
• Grapes
• Cherries
• Bramble
• Pine seeds
• Cracked corn
• Raisins
• Dogwood

If using suet feeders they should always be securely anchored and provide a tail prop panel or similar support on which the birds can feed. Hopper or tray feeders are most effective when offering the birds other types of foods. Whereas smaller woodpeckers such as the Downy Woodpecker may cling to a variety of cage feeders or dried up sunflower heads to feed directly from the plants. You may even catch one or two sneaking a few bites from the hummingbird feeders or other bird feeders.

Most woodpeckers are non-migratory. In fact the Wryneck originating from Europe is the only known member of the woodpecker family which migrates in the classic sense of the word. Ranging across most of continental Europe this species heads south during the fall season and to Africa in the winter. Rarely, they have sometimes migrated to Spain as well. Formerly breeders of the UK, these magnificent birds have been known to periodically undergo strong movements related to food shortages or overpopulation. The United States is filled with many migrant woodpeckers such as the Red-headed & Lewis woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker, Williamson’s Woodpecker, Red-Breasted, Red Naped and Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, all of which vacate part of their breeding range and head south during the winter. This helps explain why Britain’s only vagrant woodpecker is not a European species despite their relative proximity to the UK.

Woodpeckers are interesting creatures. They are tree bark feeding creatures that use their unique feet to cling to wood and their long tongues and beaks are specifically designed to help them locate and reach insects within tree trunks. Once they locate their prey after tapping a few times with their beaks they whip their long tongues out to capture the insects from the inner and outer bark of the tree.

A woodpecker searches surfaces of tree trunks and branches for insects such as wood boring beetles, carpenter ants, termites and the like. The pecking style they use for feeding is quite different then the drumming which they are known to do during spring months. Only a few pecks are needed to help the bird explore around the resulting hole until its prey is found or the bird is satisfied to search elsewhere. The damage from this feeding activity usually occurs in horizontal lines however it is important to know that in most cases woodpeckers prefer dead wood rather than sound wood when digging for food or excavating nest cavities. Since most trees already contain some dead wood, the woodpecker’s activity during the feeding process does not necessarily mean the tree is being damaged in any way by the bird. These birds are generally considered harmless to trees.

However, though most woodpeckers are known for collecting insects to feed off of, not all woodpeckers prefer this type of food source. Some woodpeckers such as the sapsucker would rather feast upon tree sap or insects that are attracted to the sap. These sapsuckers will attack and kill trees and seriously degrade wood. They are a very serious tree pest and since they are migratory creatures the effects they have upon tress ranges throughout North America. The United States Forest Service suggests that a sapsucker will kill red maple nearly 40% of the time it attacks where as it only kills hemlock at the rate of 1% or so.

Sapsuckers are also known to return to a tree to increase the size of the hole for fresh sap and may make repeated attacks on trees during breeding seasons. These repeated attacks on the trees can kill branches or even the entire tree. Insects, porcupines and/or squirrels may also be attracted the oozing sap. This can cause even more damage to the tree. Wood decay and/or stain fungi and bacteria may enter through the feeding wounds and will only make matters worse.

The good news is that there are a few ways one can discourage a sapsucker from feeding in or upon a tree. One method that has been used includes wrapping a hardware cloth or burlap sack around the area of attack. You can also smear on a sticky repellent that will discourage the sapsuckers from feeding here. There are a few different brands that can be used. One is known as Tanglefoot Bird Repellent. There are also sprays and bird tapes for this type of thing. Something to keep in mind when trying to discourage birds from feeding upon your trees is that if you cover one tree in repellent or burlap, they are likely to choose another tree nearby for future tapping. In which case, it may just be better to sacrifice the already tapped and damaged tree in favor of the possible loss of another tree.

Most trees already harbor some sort of insect. When combined with a woodpecker’s feeding activities, the tree’s life will just be diminished must quicker. Inspecting trees for insects is just as important as insects such as carpenter ants and termites love to feast upon trees. Treating the woodpecker’s food source by getting rid of the pests on the tree can often be a useful method when trying to deter the birds from ones yard.

Because woodpeckers are dependent upon trees for food and shelter, most times they are usually found within wooded areas or inside nest cavities that have been chiseled into trees. They are also known to reside in tree trunks, braches, and sometimes even abandoned squirrel or bird nests. Sometimes a woodpecker may even run another creature off to steal its nest. Many species have been known to nest within human made structures and have extended their habitat to include wooden fences, old barns or sheds, utility poles and other buildings.

Most of the damage caused to trees by this species of bird occurs from February to June, which corresponds with their breeding months and a period of territorial establishment. Among sapsuckers a few other woodpeckers that are known to cause the most damage to trees or structures are as follows:

• Red-headed (Melanerpes erythrocephalus),
• Acorn (Melanerpes formicivorus) ,
• Golden-fronted (Melanerpes aurifrons),
• Red-bellied (Melanerpes carolinus),
• Ladder-backed (Picoides scalaris),
• Downy (Picoides pubescens),
• Hairy (Picoides villosus),
• Red-cockaded (Picoides borealis),
• Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus),
• Pileated (Dryocopus pileatus).

Damage to buildings such as summer homes or barns may take one ne of several forms. Holes may be drilled into wood siding, eaves, window frames and even trim boards. These birds prefer cedar and redwood siding but will not hesitate to damage pine, fir, cypress and others when choices are limited. Natural or stained wood surfaces are preferred over painted wood and newer homes in an area are often primarily targets due to this fact. Particularly vulnerable to damage are the rustic appearing plywoods that consist of grooves. These grooves in the wood leave vertical layers of the wood exposed and may harbor insects that will attract the bird. The woodpeckers often break out these core gaps in the wood and leave a characteristic narrow horizontal damage pattern in the wood as a result.

Sapsucking Woodpeckers are known to bore a series of parallel rows of ¼ to 3/8 inch (0.6- to 1.0-cm) closely spaced holes within the bark of tree limbs or trunks of healthy trees and then use their tongues to remove the sap. These pesky birds usually feed on a few favorite ornamental or fruit trees where nearby trees of the same species may sometimes be left untouched. Holes may then be enlarged through continued pecking or limb growth, and large patches of bark may be removed. This in many cases as you can imagine, results in a dead tree.

Woodpeckers are not mammals. They are aves that belong to the Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordate Subphylum Vertebra Class Aves. Birds such as the woodpecker are bi-pedal, warm blooded, oviparous vertebrates that can be characterized primarily by their feathers, modified wings, and hollow bones. Some common characteristics of birds include a bony beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, high metabolic rate, and a light but strong skeleton. These creatures can also be characterized by their flight, though there are a few species of birds that have lost this ability. Birds feed their young by regurgitating partially digested material.

On the other hand, mammals can be characterized by having hair or fur, giving birth to live young and nursing them with their mammary glands, and most mammals also usually have sweat glands. Mammals possess stronger and denser bones than birds, have specialized teeth, and have been known to carry their young in their womb or pouch. Mammal young are usually born one at a time whereas birds such as the woodpecker are often born in pairs, with the stronger either killing or pushing the other out of the nest.

Interestingly enough birds and mammals both evolved from reptiles, however each from a different type of reptile. Mammals first appeared about two hundred and twenty five million years ago and dramatically increased in number, diversity and size after the distinction of dinosaurs and larger reptiles about 65 million years ago.

The oldest bird fossil that we know of today is from a bird called Archaeopteryx. This bird lived about one hundred and fifty million years ago and also underwent many changes such as mammals, however they underwent these changes much earlier than mammals did.

One of the biggest differences between birds and mammals is the fact that birds have wings in place of the arms or forelegs that mammals have. Mammals usually walk upon all four limbs or have adapted to walk upright such as humans do. (take for instance, apes). The Woodpecker also possesses a large vertical keel on their sternum that mammals do not have. Attached to this sternum are the strong, robust breast muscles that the bird uses to pull its wings during flight.

Woodpeckers are omnivorous creatures and primarily feed on insects, seeds, berries, acorns, nuts, fruit and sap from trees. They mainly prefer a diet of insects and their grubs which it gathers from living or dead trees. Ecologically, these birds also help keep trees healthy by sticking to this type of diet as it keeps the trees from suffering from mass infestations. This type of bird is also well known for its ability to acquire wood-boring grubs by using their bills to hammer trees. Overall, these birds are very flexible in their diet and most species are omnivorous or opportunistic.

They especially love to find bugs inside of tree trunks or in the rotted wood or crevices of a tree. Some of their favorite treats include ants, termites, beetles, grubs, caterpillars and spiders. Once hammering the tree with its bill the bird then excavates its prey with its long barbed tongue. In most cases woodpeckers prefer dead wood rather than healthy wood to dig for food or excavate nest cavities. Since most trees contain some amount of dead wood, the woodpecker’s activity from its diet does not necessarily mean that it is harming the tree.

Woodpeckers have often been known to change their dieting patterns to whatever food sources are most abundant at the time. For instance, sap is a popular food source in the spring when few other foods it enjoys are unavailable. In the spring and summer they can mostly be found feasting upon insects as it provides a great deal of protein to the bird which helps in the breeding process and is good for growing hatchlings. In the fall, nuts, seeds, and fruit are more popular because of plentiful natural harvests that occur. Some species of woodpeckers will even cache foods for colder months when sources are scarce.

Woodpeckers will visit backyards that offer appropriate food year round. The most popular foods they enjoy that are found in many backyard feeders include: peanut butter, sunflower seeds, fruit such as apples or oranges, suet, nuts, fruit blends, nectar and meal worms. These types of feeders are available at stores for purchase and can be quite useful for woodpeckers when food is scarce in the wild. Suet feeders should be securely attached and provide a small tail prop panel or similar support for the birds to feed. Tray feeders are often most effective for offering other types of food to the bird.

Contrary to what many believe, woodpeckers do not drum on the wood of trees to eat it. As mentioned before they may do this to dislodge a grub from a tree or to drill a hole in the tree to get to its food easier. What many people do not realize is that when they are not doing this, the drumming method they are using is actually a form of communication. It is often used to advertise a territory or to attract a male woodpecker. While woodpeckers do use their bills in feeding, they do not eat the wood itself.