Red-headed Woodpeckers are one of only four North American woodpeckers that store food — they cache acorns in cracks and crevices for winter.
Their entire head is brilliant red — both sexes share the bold pattern, unusual among woodpeckers.
Populations have declined sharply over the last century due to habitat loss and competition from European Starlings.
Red-headed Woodpeckers favor open landscapes with scattered tall trees and standing dead wood. Suet and acorn-rich oaks help.
Suet, mealworms, sunflower hearts. They cache nuts and corn in tree bark.
Mount a 2" hole nest box 12–20 ft up on a dead tree or pole in open habitat.
Native oaks for acorn cache; standing dead snags for nesting and foraging.
European Starlings displace them; managing starlings in your area is key.
Don't remove dead trees if safe to leave; they're critical Red-headed Woodpecker habitat.
A striking woodpecker of open eastern oak woodlands and savanna; once widespread, now patchy in many areas.
Resident throughout the Midwest, southern Great Lakes, and Southeast. Range fluctuates with mast crops.
Local resident in oak savanna and along wooded riparian corridors.
Local breeder in southern Ontario.
Open oak and pine savanna, golf courses, cemeteries, large parks, and mature suburban yards with scattered tall trees and dead snags.
Caches food (acorns, insects) in tree crevices — boxes mounted near oaks fare best.