Downy woodpeckers are small birds that are common across North America. Their size ranges from 5.5 to 7 inches, making them one of the smallest woodpeckers. They have black and white plumage with spots on their wings and striped patterns on their faces. Males have a red spot on the backs of their heads. These busy birds can often be found in backyards, parks, and woodlands searching for food.
What do downy woodpeckers eat?
Downy woodpeckers are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter. Their diet consists mainly of insects, nuts, seeds, fruit, and sap. Some of their favorite foods include:
- Beetles
- Caterpillars
- Ants
- Aphids
- Spiders
- Insect eggs and larvae
- Sap from trees
- Nuts and acorns
- Berries
- Corn
- Sunflower seeds
- Suet
Downy woodpeckers use their sharply chisel-like beaks to excavate and probe into trees, stumps, and logs searching for the insects and larvae they feed on. Their long barbed tongues are perfect for extracting insects deep within trees or other crevices.
What do downy woodpeckers eat in winter?
Downy woodpeckers must adjust their diets in winter when insects are scarce. They rely more on nuts, seeds, fruit, and suet. Some key foods for downy woodpeckers in winter are:
- Suet
- Peanuts
- Black oil sunflower seeds
- Cracked corn
- Nyjer thistle
- Raisins
- Chopped fruit like apples or oranges
- Mealworms
Supplementing backyard bird feeders with suet, nuts, and seed will help downy woodpeckers get the nutrients and fat they need to survive cold winters. Offering live mealworms is also a great winter food as they provide protein.
What kind of bird feeders do downy woodpeckers use?
Downy woodpeckers will visit tube feeders, hopper or platform feeders, suet feeders, and mesh feeders filled with cut fruit, mealworms, or suet mixes:
- Tube feeders – Downies like standard tube feeders filled with black oil sunflower seeds, nyjer thistle, safflower seeds, cracked corn, and peanuts.
- Platform or hopper feeders – These allow downies to perch while they remove shells from sunflower seeds. Use hulled sunflower seeds to avoid piles of discarded shells.
- Suet feeders – Custom suet feeders with small cages or bags are perfect for offering suet, suet mixes, peanut butter, or insect suet cakes.
- Mesh feeders – Wire mesh bags or cylinders allow downies to reach live mealworms or chopped fruit while keeping larger birds away.
Avoid mixes with lots of milo, wheat, oats, and corn. Downies prefer oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, nyjer thistle, and suet. Place feeders near trees to encourage visits.
How and where do downy woodpeckers find food?
Downy woodpeckers find food using a variety of techniques:
- Excavating trees – They use their beaks to chisel into dead trees searching for beetle larvae, ants, and other insects.
- Probing bark – They probe crevices in bark and use their barbed tongue to extract trapped insects.
- Flaking bark – They pry off outer bark to access insects underneath.
- Leaping to catch insects – They will catch insects and spiders in mid-air as they fly past.
- Visiting feeders – They frequent backyard tube, hopper, platform, suet, and mesh feeders.
Some prime spots downy woodpeckers search for food include:
- Dead trees and branches
- Tree trunks and limbs
- Decaying stumps
- Under loose bark
- Backyard feeders
- Gardens and woodland edges
What is the best bird food for downy woodpeckers?
The best foods to offer downy woodpeckers at bird feeders are:
Food | Details |
---|---|
Suet | Pure raw suet or suet blends with seeds, nuts, and fruit are excellent high-fat foods for winter. |
Sunflower seeds | Black oil sunflowers are preferred over striped. Use hulled seeds in platform feeders. |
Safflower | Small white safflower seeds are a favorite of downies. |
Peanuts | Offer shelled, halved, or chopped peanuts in mesh bags or platform feeders. |
Nyjer thistle | The small black nyjer seeds attract downies to tube feeders. |
Cracked corn | She’ll eat cracked corn from platform or hopper feeders. |
Fruit | Try chopped raisins, apples, oranges, grapes, and berries. |
Mealworms | Live mealworms provide extra protein in winter from mesh or platform feeders. |
Avoid cheap seed mixes with fillers like milo, wheat, oats, rice, and barley. Stick to nuts, oil sunflower seeds, suet, fruit, and mealworms.
What kind of suet do downy woodpeckers eat?
Downy woodpeckers relish suet, the hard fat around the organs of cattle and sheep. You can offer suet to downies by:
- Hanging raw suet chunks in mesh bags or cages.
- Serving homemade suet mixes pressed into logs, cakes, or plugs.
- Using commercial no-melt suet cakes or blocks.
The highest quality suet includes only raw rendered fat without added fillers. But downies will also eat commercial suet cakes. Look for brands with insect larva, nuts, seeds, corn, oats, fruit, and peanut butter.
You can make homemade suet by combining:
- 1 part raw suet or rendered fat
- 2 parts bird seed, cornmeal, oats, cracked corn, wheat, lentils, raisins, or peanuts
- Mashed fruit, berries, or peanut butter
Melt the fat, stir in add-ins, and freeze until firm or refrigerate for immediate use. Offer your suet creations in mesh bags, cages, or special suet feeders with tail props.
How to attract downy woodpeckers to your yard
Follow these tips to bring downy woodpeckers to your backyard:
- Offer black oil sunflower seeds, suet, peanuts, and nyjer thistle in specialized feeders placed near trees.
- Supplement feeders with fruit like apples, berries, grapes, and oranges.
- Add live mealworms in mesh containers or platform feeders.
- Ensure fresh water is always available in a birdbath, fountain, or ground dish.
- Install a nesting box customize for downy woodpeckers.
- Leave dead trees, stumps, and fallen logs untouched for foraging.
- Avoid trimming trees and bushes in early spring when nesting.
- Grow native plants that attract insect prey like oak, maple, willow, and pine.
- Reduce or eliminate pesticide use which reduces insect food sources.
- Choose chemical-free backyard maintenance and gardening practices.
Creating a natural habitat with mature trees and native plants will provide nesting sites, winter shelter, and year-round food sources for downy woodpeckers.
When and how do downy woodpeckers feed their young?
Downy woodpeckers produce one brood per mating season from April to July. The breeding and nesting timeline goes like this:
- April – Females begin excavating nest holes in dead trees about 3-6 inches deep.
- May – 5-8 white eggs are laid and incubated for 12 days.
- May – June – Eggs hatch and naked, blind chicks rely on parents for food.
- June – July – Parents feed nestlings a diet of regurgitated insects every 1-3 minutes all day.
- June – July – Nestlings fledge at 26-28 days old.
- July – Parents continue feeding fledglings for 2 more weeks as they learn to forage.
Throughout nesting season, downy woodpecker parents work diligently to provide protein-rich insects to their hatchlings. Adults make frequent trips to deliver small pieces of insects like beetle larvae, ants, insect eggs, spiders, aphids, and flies which they regurgitate right into each chick’s mouth.
Feeding occurs continuously from dawn to dusk. In a single day, parents may deliver hundreds of meals back and forth as often as every 1-3 minutes! This frantic feeding rate ensures chicks get enough nutrition to fuel rapid growth and development.
Do downy woodpeckers eat mealworms?
Yes, downy woodpeckers readily eat mealworms, especially in winter when insects are scarce. Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle. They provide downies with vital proteins, vitamins, and fat.
There are a few easy ways to offer live mealworms:
- Use covered platform or hopper feeders to discourage larger birds.
- Offer them in wire mesh feeders or bags which allow downies access.
- Mix them into suet cakes and logs.
You can buy live mealworms at pet supply stores or online. Store them in a refrigerator to slow down activity and keep them fresh. Bring them out a half hour before serving to allow them to become active.
When served fresh, mealworms will wiggle and move which triggers the downy’s natural hunting instincts. The movement helps the birds locate the nutritious treats within feeders. Just be sure to keep offering them fresh daily as they can spoil quickly in warm temperatures.
Do downy woodpeckers eat ants?
Yes, ants are a key part of the downy woodpecker’s diet, especially in spring and summer. Downies use their specialized beaks to probe into trees and lap up ants with their sticky, barbed tongues.
Favorite ant foods include:
- Carpenter ants
- Wood ants
- Acrobat ants
- Field ants
- Harvester ants
Ant larvae and pupae are also devoured by downies excavating nests in logs, stumps, and trees. Ants provide downy woodpeckers with essential proteins for breeding season and rearing young.
You can supplement feeders with live ants but it may attract more undesirable pests. Instead, let downies forage naturally for ants in trees, fallen logs, and forested areas of your yard.
Do downy woodpeckers eat suet cakes?
Yes, downy woodpeckers love suet cakes, especially in winter when insects are limited. Suet provides downies with vital fat and energy to survive cold temperatures.
The best suet cakes for downy woodpeckers contain:
- Pure raw suet or rendered fat.
- Peanut butter for extra energy.
- Seeds like millet, cracked corn, and sunflower.
- Fruit bits for sweetness like raisins, apple, or berries.
- Oats, wheat, or cornmeal as filler.
- Insects like mealworms or insect suet.
Avoid suet with lots of cheap fillers like rice, barley, or milo. Stick to suet cakes with high fat content from suet and nuts. Downies can choke on chunks that are too large or hard.
For the best experience, choose suet specifically designed for smaller birds. Look for bite size or mini cakes. Place the suet in tailored feeders with narrow slots and small cages to prevent bigger birds from taking over.
Conclusion
Downy woodpeckers have a strong preference for insects and will even become expert flycatchers in pursuit of tasty bugs. But they adjust their diet in winter and at feeders to take advantage of energy-dense foods like suet, nuts, fruit, and seed.
To attract downy woodpeckers to your yard, make sure to offer suet feeders, black oil sunflowers, insect suet, peanut pieces, and mealworms. Manage your property to preserve dead trees, fallen logs, and underbrush where the birds can hunt for insects. Maintain native plants that support their prey. A natural habitat with supplemental feeders will help downies thrive.