Do woodpeckers eat bird seed? Woodpeckers are hardy birds that don’t shy away from harsh conditions like snow, sleet, and freezing temperatures. With their striking black and white markings, and occasional red, they are often seen foraging around bare tree trunks during the winter months. To best attract and provide woodpeckers at your feeder, learn what foods they prefer. Here are four popular seeds and foods that birdsofjoy.com makes it easy to create a menu that appeals to woodpeckers.
Do woodpeckers eat bird seed?
Woodpeckers’ diet includes insects, grubs, spiders, tree sap, nuts, seeds, berries, dried fruit and nectar. If you want to feed woodpeckers in your garden, you should put peanuts, sunflower seeds and fat in your feeder.
Providing food and water is particularly important in attracting woodpeckers to your garden. Peanuts, sunflower seeds and fat or lard are best hung up or placed in your feeder, and it is also worth leaving apple cores around your garden as woodpeckers will peck at these to see if they can find larvae inside. Instead of putting water on a bird table, put water on a dish on the ground in a well-sheltered corner of the garden.
Cooking fats such as lard or rendered fat can be used to attract woodpeckers to your garden if prepared properly. Mix it with sunflower seeds, dried fruit and bird food and once it is dry, find a container to put it in and hang it from a tree. You can also collect acorns and leave them scattered around the garden as woodpeckers love to munch on these.
What Kind of Food Do Woodpeckers Eat?
1. Tallow
Tallow is a favorite food of woodpeckers, and they are not picky about the type. You can make your own from meat purchased directly from a butcher; no need to melt it. Store-bought tallow cakes are also a good option. A basic tallow cage is inexpensive, and pre-made cakes slide in to fit perfectly. Check out the best tallow cages for winter birds.
2. Peanuts
Skinned or unshelled, peanuts are a delicious snack that woodpeckers love. You can find feeders made specifically for peanuts. Nut companies have jumped on the bird bandwagon and are selling peanuts that are not suitable for human consumption. Remember: Unsalted peanuts are best.
3. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
Down and feathered woodpeckers are especially fond of this food. Since woodpeckers are a little larger than the average songbird, you should put sunflower seeds in a funnel or feeder that they can easily access.
4. Peanut Butter
Here’s an easy, no-fuss way to feed and attract woodpeckers: Simply spread peanut butter directly onto the tree trunk. Or buy a wooden feeder and fill the pre-drilled holes with a chewy, high-fat snack. Any regular peanut butter you have in your pantry will work, but avoid low-fat varieties.
What type of feeder is best for woodpeckers?
Woodpeckers have slightly different needs than other birds that visit your garden. One of the most important considerations when choosing a woodpecker feeder is how easy it is for the woodpecker to hold onto.
You will need a long feeder, ideally one with a long tail fin, which is the protrusion at the bottom of the feeder that allows the bird to hold onto the feeder while they eat. Grips (ledges on the side of the feeder) serve a similar function.
Alternatively, you could try a long feeder tube, preferably one that is inaccessible to squirrels. Since woodpeckers love peanuts, a peanut feeder tube can be a great solution.
Where do you put your woodpecker feeder?
In general, you should choose a quiet place to put your woodpecker feeder, ideally with natural sounds (like water or insects) nearby. As with all bird feeders, it’s best to keep them out of reach of cats.
Of course, trees are natural woodpecker territory, making them an obvious place to feed. You can hang one from a tree branch (or the floor) using a rope or chain.
If you want to see woodpeckers up close, you can hang a feeder near a window using a wall hook. Or you can even attach some feeders to the window itself, using a suction cup.
What foods do woodpeckers hate?
Woodpeckers don’t just peck at wood: they can also direct their attention to your house, potentially causing damage to your property. To prevent that, you can use bird feeders to lure them out of the house.
Alternatively, you can create a food-based repellent to keep them away altogether. They hate the smell of garlic, peppermint, cayenne pepper, and tabasco sauce. Make a solution using any of these and spray around the area where you find them to humanely repel them.
Conclusion
Knowing whether or not woodpeckers eat birdseed will not only help you understand more about their diet, but it will also help you create conditions that are more conducive to attracting and caring for them. Although woodpeckers primarily eat insects and tree sap, they can still respond to some types of seeds if provided properly. Providing a rich and varied menu of seeds and other foods will help you attract these special guests to your yard. With this information, you can easily create an attractive environment for woodpeckers, contributing to the enrichment of life around you.
