Read About Woodpecker Bird Watching

ImageWoodpecker bird watching is somewhat challenging because unlike backyard birds, woodpeckers are not used to being watched by people.

All about the Woodpecker

Aside from being a very famous cartoon character with whacky red hair, the woodpecker bird is a very industrious animal. About 20 species of woodpeckers live in North America and many of them do not migrate south when it gets cold in the winter. As their names suggest, woodpeckers like to live in wooded areas because they use their powerful beaks to make homes in trees. Though woodpeckers aren’t always found in abundance in your backyard like chickadees or robins, you will be able to do a little woodpecker bird watching in parks because woodpeckers often nest in park trees.

How do I get a woodpecker into my backyard?

So, you don’t have time to go into the forest by your house, and your park doesn’t have any woodpeckers for woodpecker bird watching? Well, that’s OK. There are ways to attract woodpeckers to your backyard so all you have to do is sit in your favorite easy chair with a pair of binoculars and watch the little guys get to work!

To get woodpeckers into your backyard, put suet on the bark of a tree. Woodpeckers love to eat insects, but they also love suet, which is a mixture of animal fat and bird seed. ImageYou can get suet at any bird store. It’s inexpensive and easy to smear on tree bark. To attract woodpeckers to your yard for woodpecker bird watching, you need to have a wooded backyard. These birds love trees because that’s where they make their homes and find the insects that they love to eat. If you can, leave an old stump in your yard because woodpeckers love to hang around old stumps.

You can also set up a woodpecker bird house or bird feeder. To increase the chances of getting engaged in woodpecker bird watching in your backyard, place these items on an oak tree because woodpeckers love oak trees.

Setting yourself up for woodpecker bird watching

Now that you’ve gotten the birds all taken care of, you need to set yourself up for woodpecker bird watching. Get yourself a decent pair of binoculars (you can find some for about $200), get a field guide for identifying the woodpeckers that come to your yard and a field notebook to record the woodpeckers when they do come to your yard. Keep in mind that your binoculars should be at a power no greater than seven, especially if you plan on sticking to your backyard when you’re engaged in woodpecker bird watching.