October 2025

Even in the slowest of bird feeding seasons, there are some birds that tend to stay loyal to our bird feeders. This month, we will be focusing on two species that often get confused, but each have their own fascinating life story. They’re both fairly common black and white woodpeckers, with the males having a red dot on the back of their head. Both regularly visit feeders, especially those offering suet, peanuts, tree nuts, and sunflower seeds. They’re easiest to find in areas with mature trees, and especially around snags (standing dead trees) as they excavate nest cavities into the wood and feed off of the insects under the bark. At first glance, the two birds may appear to be the same species, but let’s dig a little deeper.

The Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens ) is the smaller of the two, at only 6” in height. It has a short, stubby beak and if you’re lucky, you can see the spots on their outer tail feathers. This species tends to be more comfortable with smaller trees, so are the expected species for most yards in the area. Listen for their quiet “pik” call, sometimes repeated rapidly enough to sound like a whinny. On the other hand, the Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus ) is larger at 9”, and has a long, pointy beak, with unspotted outer tail feathers. Their “peek” call is louder and sharper, and will sometimes rattle. If you hear your local woodpeckers pecking loudly against a tree, pipe, or other object, that is one of their ways of communicating to other local woodpeckers. Even when excavating tree cavities, their pecking tends to be much quieter.

Both species follow a similar nesting pattern. Males and females will have different feeding areas in fall and early winter before pairing up in mid-to-late-winter. They don’t always pair up with the same partner every year, but often will. Drumming duets help the two solidify their bond before nesting in a tree cavity usually within 5-60’ off the ground. The pair will excavate the cavity together. Then, the female will lay 3-6 eggs, and both sexes take turns sitting on the eggs. Downy Woodpecker eggs hatch in about 12 days, with Hairy Woodpeckers taking about two more days. Young Downy Woodpeckers take about 18-21 days to leave the nest, with Hairy Woodpeckers taking 28-30 days to fledge. Both species usually only produce one brood per year, and the males are the ones that tend to show the young how to find food. Woodpeckers will usually dig out a new tree cavity for each nesting season, and their previous holes will be reused by chickadees, wrens, bluebirds, squirrels, and more animals!

The best way to encourage your local woodpeckers to visit your backyard bird feeders is to offer a variety of suet, nuts, seed, mealworms, and fruit. Provide places where they can grab on vertically (such as a tree trunk or post) and offer feeders with tail props (a U-shaped base to the feeder) so that they can anchor their tail and feel more comfortable feeding. If you would like to see more woodpeckers at the Botanical Garden’s bird-feeding station, make sure to donate to the “Feed a Bird” fund! To find out more about woodpeckers and other Arkansas birds, or to pick out your new favorite feeder, visit us at Wild Birds Unlimited, at one of our two locations (745 E Joyce Blvd in Fayetteville and 2011 Promenade Blvd in Rogers)! Enjoy the birds!