Hairy Woodpeckers look almost identical to Downy Woodpeckers but are noticeably larger with a much longer bill.
They forage on larger trunks than Downies, often higher in the canopy and on dead wood.
Their drumming is a key vocal display — louder, slower, and more even than the Downy's.
Hairies use feeders too but are pickier than Downies. Mature trees and standing dead wood are essential.
Suet, peanut butter, sunflower hearts, and shelled walnuts.
Mount a 1½" hole nest box 12–25 ft up on a tree trunk in a mature wooded area.
Mature trees with standing dead wood for foraging.
European Starlings can take over Hairy boxes — keep boxes in dense forest, not near urban centers.
Don't site in young stands or pure plantation; they need old growth structure.
A widespread non-migratory woodpecker of mature forest across North America.
Year-round throughout, especially common in mature forest.
Common across most of the country, north to the southern Northwest Territories.
Resident populations in the highland pine-oak forests south to Panama.
Mature deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forest. Less suburban-tolerant than Downies; they need mature trees and dead wood.
Less likely to take a box than Downy — but a tall, deep box near mature trees may attract them.