Woodpecker Houses: Which Woodpeckers Use a Box and How to Attract Them

Which woodpeckers use woodpecker houses

Woodpeckers are cavity birds, and nearly all of them carve their own. The Missouri Department of Conservation says all seven woodpecker species in the state nest and roost in holes or cavities in trees that they usually excavate themselves, and that they sometimes use existing cavities or nest boxes but generally prefer natural sites. A box is therefore a second choice for the bird, not a first one, which explains why many boxes put up for woodpeckers sit empty.

Within that limit, some species accept the offer. ThinkingAfield calls the northern flicker the most likely woodpecker to be attracted to a nest box, with downy woodpeckers also possible. Oregon State University Extension publishes dimensions for three species: downy, hairy and northern flicker. The sources reviewed for this guide give no box specifications for red-bellied or pileated woodpeckers, so none appear below. The Pennsylvania Game Commission notes that the pileated woodpecker’s own excavations become nesting and roosting cavities for many other species, which is a reason to leave large dead trees alone.

Woodpecker homes: nesting and roosting cavities

A woodpecker home is a cavity, and a cavity does two jobs. The Pennsylvania Game Commission describes cavities as nesting and roosting places. Missouri says the same of its species: they nest and roost in holes. A bird sleeping in a hole in winter and a bird raising young in the same sort of hole are using one structure at different seasons.

For a backyard, this means a nest box built to woodpecker proportions can also serve as shelter outside the breeding season. None of the sources fetched here lay out a separate roost box design for woodpeckers, so this guide does not offer one. What is documented is the nest box itself.

Box size: what the sources say

Dimensions vary by publisher, and where they conflict the range is shown rather than one figure.

For the northern flicker, NestWatch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology gives an entrance hole of 2.5 inches, an interior depth of 24 inches, a floor of 7.25 by 7.25 inches and a mounting height of 6 to 12 feet. Oregon State Extension agrees on the 2.5 inch hole but lists a larger floor of 10 by 10 inches, a side height of 16 to 18 inches and an entrance 14 to 16 inches above the floor. It places all three of its woodpecker boxes 5 to 25 feet up on a dead tree at the edge of a forest. The two publishers disagree on the interior, and only the entrance hole is common to both.

For the smaller species, Oregon State gives the downy woodpecker a 1.25 inch hole with the entrance 7 inches above the floor, and the hairy woodpecker a 1.625 inch hole with the entrance 9 to 12 inches above the floor. ThinkingAfield gives 1.5 inches for downy woodpeckers. A 1.25 to 1.5 inch range is the honest answer for a downy box.

Packing the box with wood chips

The trick that separates a woodpecker box from a bluebird box is the filling. ThinkingAfield describes stuffing the box with wood chips and tamping them down into a soft-solid mass so the bird can excavate. NestWatch asks for the flicker box to be packed completely to the top with white pine wood chips, replaced yearly by April 1, with shallow parallel grooves cut in the interior walls to help nestlings climb out. Oregon State recommends about an inch of shavings or chips in its general instructions and warns against sawdust, because it soaks up water and mats down. Missouri makes the same point: chips, not sawdust.

NestWatch also warns that European starlings frequently take over flicker cavities, and suggests mounting the box on a pole at least 10 feet from the nearest tree to discourage squirrels. Placement advice from NestWatch and ThinkingAfield matches: a shaded spot facing south or east, with an open flight path to the entrance. More general box guidance is in the birdhouse guide, and construction diagrams for other species are collected in the plans section.

Attracting woodpeckers without a house

Because most woodpeckers excavate, the habitat matters more than the box. Missouri advises against cutting down snags, meaning standing dead or dying trees, which provide insect food as well as nest and roost sites. The Pennsylvania Game Commission lists dead and dying trees and limbs, nut-producing trees and open areas among the features that support woodpeckers.

Food draws them into view. Missouri names suet as a source of quick energy, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission says suet and seed feeders attract various species. The feeder guide covers suet holders and placement. NestWatch adds a point for flickers in particular: they feed mostly on the ground, so chemicals on a lawn work against them.

Woodpecker houses for sale

A purchased box can be checked against the figures above. The entrance hole diameter is the first test, followed by whether the interior can hold a full packing of wood chips, which the flicker guidance calls for and which needs a way to refill it each year. A thin decorative house with a perch and a small round hole matches none of the dimensions published for the species covered here, and none of the extension or conservation sources describe that style as useful to a woodpecker.