Downy woodpecker at a suet feeder by Critter Lee.
Snow, sleet and bitterly cold temperatures are no match for woodpeckers. Their can’t-miss black and white markings, with an occasional sprinkling of red, stand out as they acrobatically forage around bare tree trunks and brave the winter months. Attract more of these sought-after birds this season with this simple yet satisfying menu.
1. SUET
Woodpeckers aren’t picky. Suet straight from the butcher will do; there’s no need to render it. Place the suet in a large cage feeder. Store-bought cakes get the job done, too. A basic suet cage feeder is inexpensive, and premade cakes slide right in for a perfect fit. (Learn how to make your own suet!)
2. PEANUTS
Shelled or unshelled, this delicious snack is one that woodpeckers gobble up. You can find feeders made specifically for peanuts. Companies that sell nuts have jumped on the birding bandwagon and sell peanut feed that doesn’t make the cut for human consumption. Remember: Unsalted peanuts are best.
3. BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER SEEDS
Downies and hairies are particularly fond of this all-around favorite. Because woodpeckers are a bit bigger than the average songbird, you should serve sunflower seeds in a hopper or platform feeder to give them easy access.
4. PEANUT BUTTER
Here’s an easy, no-fuss way to feed winter woodpeckers: Simply smear peanut butter directly on the tree trunks. Or buy a log feeder and fill the predrilled holes with the gooey, high-fat snack.
BACKYARD TIP
Field Editor Boni Trombetta feeds woodpeckers all year. “Adults bring the babies to the feeders so they know where to find an easy meal,” she says.
6 Woodpeckers to Watch For
- Downy
- Hairy
- Red-Bellied
- Red-Headed
- Pileated
- Northern Flicker
Annie of NC says
Although I have northern flickers and pileated woodpeckers in my NC garden, I have never seen them at the feeders. Does anyone know how to attract those customers?!
Speaking of woodpeckets, I’m looking forward to reading “The Woodpecker Always Pecks Twice”, the third book in the Bird Lover’s Mystery series. Loved the first two!
Bill says
I just use the suet blocks that’s a for woodpeckers and I get the little red headed ones and another kind that I’m not sure of
Jerry Standeford says
We live in South Central Indiana and have six different species of woodpeckers. We have had a pair of pileated for the last 25 years. They have had young ones and visit our suet feeder. I make my own suet and it seems to attract many kinds of birds.
Laurie K says
Would you share how you make your suet? I’ve never made it.
Sam says
I use bacon drippings rather than suet. Our grocery stores don’t process meat anymore, so suet became very difficult to find.
Here’s my Woodpecker Suet Recipe:
1 C. Rolled Oats
1 C. Cornmeal
1/2 C. Bacon drippings
1 C. peanut butter (crunchy)
Handful of raisins
1 C. Sunflower seeds
2 T. Flour ( add if not firm enough)
Press into 9″ x 9″ glass casserole, refrigerate,
Once firm cut into 3″ x 3″ squares for suet feeder
Lyle Ehlers says
Holy wow, the Woodpeckers must just love the homemade cooking. Good for you.
clare says
Strange, but this year the Northern Flicker was wandering around the lawn, no where near the feeders. Pecking at the seeds in the ground?
Vicki says
It’s been a great winter for woodpeckers in Maine. We have plain suet out as well as a log with holes into which we put a mix of peanut butter, corn meal, oatmeal (sometimes) and seed mix. All the birds are enjoying this but the Hairy, Red-Bellied and Downy are huge fans. We’ve also had Northern Flicker and Pileated, but they prefer the suet and the berries on the crabapple. Waiting for a Red-Headed but have never spotted one of those in the area of Maine which we live (midcoast). Such a delight!
Patt B says
OMG!!! I lived in Maine 2x in my life for a total of 8 years. And I loved and fed the birds, and grew unbelievable perennials. Your email makes me so happy. So many of them came to the feeders to survive the winter. I was never alone! I now live in NC, my original home, and, of course, I take care of the ones around here. Where are you in Maine? I was Portland and Lewiston….I so do miss the Life up there!
Norma Segarra says
I love woodpeckers! I have downies that come to my feeders. I had a red bellied come a couple of times but haven’t seen it in quite a while. They do love suet and all the birds especially love peanut delight by C&S. I’ve only found it at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Other brands and types of suet will last for a couple of days, but this can be gone in a couple of hours! LOL it’s not greasy like other suet. More solid. They inhale it!
Norma Segarra says
You can find it online, but with the exception of the economy pack Wal-Mart carries, it’s more expensive for a single cake online.
JayP says
I have bought it on Amazon.
Sue Jarrett says
I have had 3 of the 4 food suggestions in my backyard feeders for several years. I get Downy, Hairy, Red-Bellied, and Plieated woodpeckers off and on all year. My peanut butter is the crunchy style with chopped nuts in it and I fill in little holes on a hanging wood plate. Now I am going to add peanuts!!
DAN PICKETT says
The woodpeckers at our feeders ignore the peanuts, but really take to the blackoil sunflower seeds and suet. Spreading peanut butter on tree bark seems to attract only squirrels and when they are done the bark is missing also leaving a “white” scar.
Elizabeth Miller says
I have had tremendous fun for years making my own suet cqkes. I melt 1 pound of lard along with 1 pound of crunchy peanut butter. Then I have fun–pour in sunflower hearts, oatmeal, and then dried fruit!!! Because it tends to be a tad soft I so I only do it in winter. I think they need really nutritious food.
Joe says
comes from the oil they seek
JayP says
If you chop the peanuts into bite size pieces, and put it in a tray feeder, or mix with the blackoil sunflower seed, the woodpeckers, as well as all the other song birds love them.
Brendasp says
How do keep blackbirds from eating all the woodpecker food?
Dave says
I thought peanut butter was not safe for birds because of its being a choking hazard.
D B says
Urban legend. It is safe for them.
JayP says
No, peanut butter won’t bother them. They love it. My birds flock to this recipe.
In a blender or food processor, mix 1 part peanut butter, 1 part shortening, 1 part flour and 1 part cracked corn (optional). If too sticky then add more cornmeal or flour to make it manageable. Keep any extra in a plastic container in the fridge during warm weather. Can be smeared on tree bark, or put in log holders. All the birds that come to my back yard love this, including the wood peckers.
Patti says
Just wondering, wouldn’t spreading peanut better directly on tree cause damage to tree as birds ” peck” it off?
Jerry Standeford says
I used lard in my suet. I read this will give them warmth in the winter. It is a no melt so on a warm day it won’t melt. I have used this recipe for over 20 years and my bird population is great. I used about 25 pounds of black oil a week.
Christine says
I would love a source for those peanuts not fit for human consumption. Or for a large bag like 50 pounds, that doesn’t cost a fortune. any suggestions?
JayP says
I buy them at the feed and grain place where I often buy my birdseed, in 5 lb bags, shelled.
Mike Barker says
Store bought peanuts and peanut butter: What is the word on added sugar and added salt? I know salt can be toxic to some birds, but I have no data or authoritative source on at what amounts. I get my shelled peanuts for birds and I large bag at the local overpriced bird supply store. Watching little bitty birds grab very large peanuts in the shell and fly off of them will give you hours of entertainment. 🙂
Susan Hammond says
Yay! I feed ALL those foods! The northern flicker only comes around in the winter; I watch for it eagerly!
Mary Lou Wilson says
I put out suet, sunflower seeds,and pb. There are ladder-backed woodpeckers here in Albuquerque.
Tim LLoyd says
We live in a small town and have had visits to our suet cage from a pileated woodpecker this winter, Its hard for him to hang on and feed at the same time, but it’s an enjoyable sight just the same.
Jerry Standeford says
I used a piece of pine 3/4 x 4 in.x 12 in long. I attached a suet cage on each side. It is long enough that a pileated can hang on and eat the suet. Works well for me.
janice carson says
we have all but the pileated, have not seen one of those for years. feed all of the above items in different feeders, front and back yard, so much fun to watch all the different birds snacking on them along with our bird bath which has a heater in it to allow them water for the winter also.
Gary says
I have always had terrible luck attracting birds of any kind to suet cakes. As I write this there is a woodpecker going up and down a large pecan tree that I hung a suet cake in a few days ago but is ignoring the suet. I’ll stick to feeding the birds seeds from now on.
Anne says
Don’t give up on the suet too soon. All my birds love it including the Blues. I have seen the Pileated on my surt feeders, especially in Spring. Downies, red bellied, flickers, titmice, nuthatches all love the suet.
David says
We have seen all these at our feeders. We typically have a variety of all the treats mentioned, except when the raccoons clean us out! The most hated enemy are the Starlings, who usually only show up and kick everyone else out when the weather is really bad and the other birds are most in need of food.
WesTexan says
We have downy and red-bellied woodpeckers and blue jays year-round. The woodpeckers seem to prefer the hanging cages with suet and seed mixtures. The Blue Jays prefer the peanuts in the shell that I place in a tray on top of the other feeders. Our feeders are very popular with Cardinals, finches, wrens, chickadees, about 2 dozen wild green parrots and the tufted titmouse — to name a few.
We keep a bird bath full at all times, which the cedar waxwings empty when they come — two days each year — by the hundreds.
Jerry Standeford says
We get all six species. I make our suet and they devour about six blocks per week. I use the containers from store bought suet and store I plastic bags in the freezer.
Melt 1 cup lard add 1 cup crunchy p.nut butter,
1 cup flour, 2 cups corn meal 2 cups quick cook oats. This is a no melt suet.
JayP says
That is very much like the mix I make. All the birds love this.
Andi Haynes Avery says
Don’t forget to watch for yellow bellied sapsuckers too! Yes, they are uncommon, but keep your eyes peeled.
Joe Rozen says
I have several woodpeckers that come to my suet feeder. However, so do squirrels. To solve that, I hang my suet, still in the plastic case, horizontally. The birds have no problem hanging upside down to eat, while the squirrels don’t.
Jane Wany says
Great idea!!!
Marie says
Here in Idaho we get a bird called Lewis’s woodpecker. It’s black on its back, pink or rose breast, and a white ring around its throat, topped by a black head. Anybody have this one?
Ellen M Briggs says
They come to my feeder all the time and I just have safflower seed. They love it.
Bonnie says
Hello! I’m new the website. I have tons of birds, mostly the Downy woodpeckers, I just saw the Red Bellied Woodpecker, I have 3 pair of cardinals and of course the chick-a-dees. III buy my suet and black sunflower seed. I’m reading all these comments about making your own and peanut butter oh and grape jelly. I have tried oranges and I did have a Baltimore Oriole this past summer. I was thrilled! When you say lard do you mean like baking shortening?
Marinevet says
We have Hairy woodpeckers, Downys, Red Bellied and flickers. Pileated come a few times a month for suet. I don’t think the tail props are long enough for the pileated.
SteveCiccarella says
We get all but the red headed in NJ, but have never seen a pileated at the suet cage”
Barb Larsen says
We have the Downy, Hairy, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red Bellied, and Red-headed. It had been nearly 50 years since we’d seen a red-headed until this winter. We feed kidney suet from the butcher shop which we cut in the size of the suet cage, then freeze, and hang 2 of them on different sides of the pin oak. All summer we have babies of each variety (maybe we’ll have baby red-headeds this year). We also have 2 varieties of nuthatches, and the brown creeper. Such fun to watch.
Gayle Husko says
Hello! I live in Southeast Arizonia and this season the Red-Headed Wood Peckers are destoying my wood on my second story dormer wood eaves above the window. YIKES! What should I do???
Papa says
If I put any of those foods out in my yard, the squirrels would eat it all before the woodpeckers even discovered it!
Eileen B. says
I live in northern MN. Very cold winters. I have 2 cage suet feeders in a tree outside the kitchen window. I have Hairies, Downys and pile aged and red headed wood peckers. The pillaged come all the time and hang on the cage feeder right. Outside the window all year round. Several pairs. I also have a red dreaded wood pecker I can imitate its call and it will answer me from the woods and soon end up on my feeders. So fun.
Eileen B. says
Pilleated. red headed wood peckers. Don’t know why my auto spell ck changed my spelling
Rose says
If you happen to have a Rural King in your neighborhood, they also carry suet cakes–try to get the ones that are ALL suet–those others are just full of cracked corn, and draw starlings and other critters. Try to hang yours so that the ‘coons can not get to them so easily, or they will eat them in one night. Chickadees and Carolina wrens also like suet. Chick tells me when my cage is empty–and is he ever loud.