![]() ![]() This bird is one that I am still trying to attract to my yard and have yet to see one at my new house. Like other woodpeckers they readily eat at suet feeders when offered, but as I mentioned they can be quite elusive and hard to attract. They are the largest species of woodpeckers in California, as well as North America. ![]() Pileated Woodpeckers are less common at suet feeders than other species like the Downy. They don’t go much further south than then middle of the state are are more common in the eastern half of the country. Pileated Woodpeckers are year-round residents mainly in some areas of Northern California. No other woodpeckers behave in this way socially.Ĥ. ![]() On top of that they will have these caches of nuts heavily guarded by members of their groups, or families, always on the lookout for thieves. This saves food stores for them when it’s hard to come by. All year long these little guys will take the acorns and store them in holes all over the place by jamming them in so that they become hard to remove for thieves. Obviously they do eat acorns, hence the name Acorn Woodpeckers, but it’s what they do with them that’s fascinating. To me, what makes the acorn woodpeckers so interesting is their behavior when it comes to food. Also you can see the white feathers on their outer wings. Their backs and wings are black, and their underbodies are mostly light but with dark chests. Look for them in pine or oak forests, they are fairly easy to recognize by their markings as no other woodpeckers look quite like they do. Here’s an article we wrote that goes into a bit more detail on the differences between a Hairy and Downy Woodpecker.Īcorn Woodpeckers are most common in Central and Northern California, but can be found in various areas of the state. ![]() It’s quite possible you’ve seen them both and just assumed they were the same species. They are very commonly seen at bird feeders and eat all of the same things as their little brother the Downy. They are common throughout the majority of the United States. The Hairy Woodpecker is also a year-round resident to California, but most common in Northern California. The Downy shot is a bit closer up so the size difference is hard to gauge, but the Hairy Woodpecker is noticeably larger and has a longer beak. The Downy is on the left and the Hairy is on the right. See the image below that shows them side by side. They can be downright difficult to tell apart except fro the larger size of the Hairy. Next up is the Hairy Woodpecker, who looks strikingly similar to the Downy. Downy Woodpeckers prefer nesting in dead trees or dead branches on live trees.Ģ. It is not unusual to catch a Downy Woodpecker drinking nectar from a hummingbird feeder. They do not migrate and are also very common in the winter time.Īside from being frequent visitors at bird feeders they also will hammer away at trees looking for insect larvae or feed on berries and acorns. Whenever I put up a new feeder in my yard Downys are always among the first to visit it along with chickadees and titmice. They are very common at feeders and easily attracted with suet, peanuts, mixed seed, or black sunflower seed. Though you’ll also find them south along the coast all the way to San Diego. Downy Woodpecker Image: ĭowny Woodpeckers are the smallest of all woodpeckers in North America and can be found mainly in Central and Northern California all year throughout the whole state. For each species we’ll have a picture to help you identify it, talk a bit about its appearance, learn some fun facts, as well as tell you where and when they can be found in the state of California.īe sure to read to the end where we’ll talk about how to attract woodpeckers to your yard.Įnjoy! Woodpeckers in California 1. In this article we’re going to talk about all 15 of these species of woodpeckers in California. The 15 species of woodpeckers found in California are the Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Williamson’s Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, White-headed Woodpecker, and the Gilded Flicker. This makes California have more species of woodpeckers than most other states in the country. Of those 22 species I’ve found that there are at least 15 species of woodpeckers in California. There are over 300 species of woodpeckers in the world, about 22 of which are found in the United States. ![]()
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