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Woodpeckers 1.) Attracting Woodpeckers 2.) About Woodpeckers 3.) Problem Solving Attracting Woodpeckers Woodpeckers are usually easy to attract to your yard and feeding station. Habitat: Wooded areas, usually with older trees. Newer developments may not have woodpeckers until trees have matures. Tip: Leave dying trees around as long as possible. Woodpeckers love them! Feeding: Will attend many feeder styles- hopper, tube, or suet. A suet feeder can be used to specifically attract woodpeckers. Tip: Use an Attractor suet log with Attractor suet plugs. Nesting: Downy woodpeckers will occasionally use nesting boxes.

About Woodpeckers ~~~~~Minnesota plays host to a variety of woodpeckers. In the Central Minnesota region, the downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pilated woodpeckers can often be sighted. Though their names name not include ‘woodpecker’, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and northern flickers are also woodpeckers that may visit your yard. A significantly more rare bird, the red-headed woodpecker, is occasionally sighted around the area. All members of the Picidae (woodpecker) family are insect eaters, though bugs are not the only component of their diet. Many of these woodpeckers can be seen at bird feeders eating seeds, though their favorite foods tend to be peanuts and suet. Woodpeckers have an especially adept sense of hearing which allows them to hear bugs in both living and dead trees, and occasionally the cedar-siding of houses. ~~~~~Woodpeckers are commonly observed tapping and drilling on trees, usually looking for insects. They may also ‘peck’ at trees in order to excavate a nesting cavity, or as a sounding of a territorial call. The yellow-bellied sapsucker will also drill a series of holes in a row and wait for sap to drip out, licking both the sap up and eating any insects caught in it. ~~~~~The tongue of woodpeckers is an interesting feature. Many woodpeckers have an especially long tongue, which allows for probing of the tree holes and cavities in search of insects. Their tongue also helps to cushion their skull against the impact involved with drilling. Problem Solving There are starlings at my suet feeder! Solution: Be sure you are using suet without any corn or grain fillers. Starlings love these fillers, while woodpeckers won’t eat them at all. Any of our store brand suet’s meet that criteria. I use quality suet, but I still have Starlings. Solution: Sometimes starlings will eat quality suet. To avoid this, buy an up-side down suet feeder. Woodpeckers have the leg muscles to hang upside down, starlings don’t. Woodpeckers are pecking at my house/deck/shed! Woodpeckers only do this for a handful of reasons: Your siding has bugs. They may actually be doing you a favor by letting you know. Get rid of the bugs, the woodpeckers stop. Nesting Cavity excavation. If the woodpecker continually pecks at the same place and creates a large hole, it’s preparing a place to nest. One remedy: put a nesting box over the hole. Territorial calls- if this is happening during breeding season, the woodpecker is likely tapping to let other woodpeckers know that your yard is his territory. After breeding season, this will likely stop. Electric buzz. If you have metal siding , the birds are likely hearing the buzz of electricity in your house, perhaps around your doorbell. If the above remedies fail, stop by and purchase some scare away holographic tape. The light refractions are sometimes enough to scare birds away. We also carry large, lifelike kites of raptors. Warning: Woodpeckers are protected by the migratory songbird act. Shooting, poisoning, or destroying the nests of these birds prohibited under federal law.