Woodpeckers are notorious ‘tree killers’ but have you ever stopped to wonder why woodpeckers peck wood? It sounds like a tongue twister, but it is an important question to ask when it comes to understanding their behaviour.
There are three reasons a woodpecker will peck wood; finding food, constructing a nest cavity or to mark their territory. Let’s elaborate below.
Not All Woodpeckers Are Wood Peckers
Most species of woodpecker are found in the Americas, with a small number found in Europe, Africa and Asia. The largest species is found in North America.
The UK is home to 3 woodpecker species. The European green woodpecker is often referred to as a yaffle. This is due to their tendency to communicate using loud calls that sound like a high-pitched laugh.
Fun fact: There are more than 200 species of woodpecker worldwide.
This species of woodpecker hardly ever drums on trees, only choosing the softest wood to build their nest cavities. The European green woodpeckers hunt on the ground, looking for ants and fruit seeds to eat.
Both the greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers are avid drummers and love to peck wood. Greater spotted woodpeckers are the largest species in the UK and the loudest drummers. Lesser spotted woodpeckers may be smaller and quieter, but their drumming lasts longer.
Woodpeckers are capable of drumming their heads against a tree up to 40 times per second! Most bird species would suffer brain damage, but woodpeckers have a unique anatomy that prevents this.
They have a shock absorbent skull to protect their brain from being bruised or concussed by the constant pecking.
What Do Woodpeckers Eat?
You may have noticed unusually green birds landing on your lawn, especially during spring and summer. These birds are most likely to be European green woodpeckers.
European green woodpeckers are terrestrial hunters who eat ants, larvae and other insects from the ground. During winter when insect numbers fall, green woodpeckers will also forage for fruit and seeds.
Greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers search for insects living in trees, within cavities or under the bark. This is one reason why they peck wood. Woodpeckers have excellent hearing and they can easily locate and track insects under the bark to eat.
Fun fact: Woodpeckers have long tongues that they use to remove insects from tree holes.
Woodpeckers have strong bills, but they prefer to peck on trees with soft wood, as the insects are easier to get to. Most often, these are trees infested with wood-boring ants, so the tree is already sick before the woodpeckers cause any further damage.
If you want to attract woodpeckers to your garden bird feeder, the best food to offer is mealworms. They are high fat, high protein insects, which are perfect for the breeding and nesting season.
You can also offer sunflower seeds, whole unsalted peanuts from a peanut feeder or fruit like oranges. You can either hang the fruit halves or screw a wooden pole to your bird feeder and put the fruit on the pole like a skewer.
Woodpeckers will also enjoy nectar. Greater spotted woodpeckers are too heavy for traditional nectar feeders, so it is best to provide nectar in a shallow dish.
Also Read: What Do Orioles Eat?
Building A Nest
Pecking wood is not just about finding food. Woodpeckers use their strong bills to dig cavities into a tree trunk so they can build a nest.
It is widely believed that the woodpecker’s love for pecking causes trees to die, but they prefer to build their nests in trees that are already dead or dying. The wood is much softer and therefore easier to hollow.
Around human populated areas, woodpeckers may try to construct nesting cavities in garden sheds, on construction sites or at lumber yards.
Most species like to use the same nest each year, but a small number of species will create a new nest each breeding season. When woodpeckers have vacated their nest sites, other bird species will take advantage of the prime real estate.
Territory & Communication
Woodpeckers will also peck wood to establish and announce their territory. This mostly occurs with males and they will drum more often when another male is nearby.
Males will also drum to attract a mate. Most species of woodpeckers are solitary and will only pair up for nesting and mating. The Acorn woodpecker is highly social, living in a community of 16-20 individuals and they will co-operatively breed and store food.
Fun fact: A flock of woodpeckers is called a ‘descent’.
Nesting typically starts in April. Once a male has found a mate, she will lay a clutch of 4-6 eggs within the male’s tree hollow. The chicks hatch after just 2 weeks and they fledge after 3 weeks.
Threats & Conservation
The biggest threat faced by woodpeckers is loss of habitat. As more and more woodlands are cleared by logging companies for manufacturing or to build homes, woodpeckers lose their vital nesting sites.
This means fewer eggs are laid each year and almost all woodpeckers species are declining. You can help protect woodpeckers, by not removing dead trees from your garden and by installing a bird feeding platform or nectar feeder.
According to the IUCN Red List, more than 85% of woodpecker species are classified as ‘low risk’, around 10% are ‘near-threatened’ and the remaining species are ‘threatened’.
Every year Paradise Birding offers woodpecker conservation tours, to highlight the need for conservation across the globe.
There are tours in North America, Argentina, Borneo, Taiwan and Japan. The idea behind the tours is to offer ‘unique opportunities’ to observe threatened woodpecker species, as well as meeting conservationists and scientists conducting vital research and conserving woodpecker habitats.
