It stopped me completely.
I was out by the memorial tree — the hand-carved by chainsaws wooden sculpture that Daniel Decouvreur created as a tribute to Connie Crowe, the woman who founded The Birdhouse back in 1993 and ran it with such heart and passion until I took over in 2017. It’s a beautiful piece, and meaningful in ways that are hard to put into words. And there, working the carved wood with quiet, methodical purpose, was a Pileated Woodpecker.
Not flying over. Not passing through. Working. Moving from crack to crevice, following the ants that had made their home in every hollow of that sculpture, doing exactly what Pileateds do. The world got very still for a moment.
That visit is what inspired this guide. Ontario is home to seven remarkable woodpecker species, and if you spend any time in a backyard with trees, you’ve probably already crossed paths with at least one. Let’s get to know all of them.
Why Woodpeckers Are Special (And What to Do When One Visits)
There’s something about a woodpecker that commands attention. The drumming, the determination, the sheer persistence of drilling into wood with nothing but a beak — it’s a reminder that nature doesn’t give up easily.
In many Indigenous North American traditions, the woodpecker carries deep symbolic weight. It represents rhythm, timing, and the wisdom of listening before you act. A woodpecker doesn’t just start hammering — it listens first, detecting insects moving beneath the bark before it ever begins. There’s a lesson in that: slow down, pay attention, then act with purpose.
When a woodpecker visits your yard, the best thing you can do is stay still and watch. These birds are going about serious business. They’ll reward your patience with a good long look.
Meet Ontario’s 7 Woodpecker Species
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy is Ontario’s smallest woodpecker, and arguably the boldest. At roughly 15–17 cm long, it’s a compact little bird with crisp black-and-white plumage and, on males, a bright red patch at the back of the head. What it lacks in size it more than makes up for in personality — Downies are frequent, fearless feeder visitors, often the first woodpecker species new birders will see up close.
In the wild, Downies work the smaller branches and stems that larger woodpeckers ignore. Their diet is heavy on beetles and their larvae, ants, caterpillars, and berries when insects are scarce. They’re particularly fond of working goldenrod galls and dried weed stalks in winter, extracting moth larvae with impressive precision.
Downies are year-round residents across virtually all of Ontario. They’re comfortable in a wide range of habitats — deciduous and mixed forests, orchards, suburban gardens, city parks. If there are trees, there are probably Downies. They nest in cavities they excavate themselves, usually in dead or dying wood, often within a metre or two of the ground. A mated pair will produce one brood per season, typically four to five eggs, with both parents sharing incubation duties.
At the feeder, Downies are enthusiastic customers. Suet is their favourite, and they’ll visit a suet cage repeatedly throughout the day. They also love peanuts and sunflower seeds, and don’t require a large or heavy-duty feeder to accommodate them. If you’re trying to attract woodpeckers to your yard, a Downy is almost certainly your most reliable first visitor.
Hairy Woodpecker
At first glance, the Hairy Woodpecker looks like a Downy that spent the summer eating well. The markings are nearly identical — black and white body, red patch on males — but the Hairy is noticeably larger (23–26 cm) with a proportionally longer, more powerful bill. Side by side the difference is clear; in the field alone, it can take a moment.
The Hairy is a bit shyer than its smaller look-alike. It tends to prefer larger trees and more mature forest, and while it will visit feeders, it’s often a little more wary and less predictable than the Downy. When it does come in, though, it stays for a good long visit.
In the wild, the Hairy’s stronger bill gives it access to wood-boring beetle larvae deeper in the wood than a Downy can reach. Ants are also a major part of the diet, as are caterpillars and other insects gleaned from bark. In fall and winter, berries supplement the menu when insects are harder to come by.
Hairy Woodpeckers are year-round residents across most of Ontario, from the southern regions up into the boreal forest. They tend to favour deciduous and mixed woodlands with large, mature trees and a good supply of dead wood for foraging and nesting. Like the Downy, they excavate their own nest cavities — usually higher off the ground and in larger-diameter trees.
At the feeder, suet is the big draw, particularly in colder months when the fat and protein content is most useful. Peanuts go over well too, and safflower seed will bring them in alongside the other birds. A suet cage mounted on or near a tree trunk is ideal placement for Hairy Woodpeckers specifically.
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated is something else entirely.
Ontario’s largest woodpecker — and one of the largest in North America — the Pileated is a crow-sized bird with a dramatic flaming red crest, black body, and white stripe down the neck. In flight it looks almost prehistoric, with slow, powerful wingbeats and a bold undulating pattern. When one lands on a tree in your yard, you know it.
The Pileated’s primary food is carpenter ants. Not incidentally — obsessively. These birds will excavate large, rectangular holes in dead and dying wood to reach ant colonies, pulling out chunks of wood and tossing them aside until they get to what they’re after. Those distinctive rectangular excavations are one of the best signs that Pileateds are working an area. They’ll return to the same sites repeatedly, sometimes opening up a rotting log over the course of weeks.
Which brings us back to our memorial tree.
When the Pileated appeared at the hand-carved sculpture Daniel Decouvreur built in honour of Connie Crowe, it was doing exactly what Pileateds do. Moving methodically through every crack and crevice in the carved wood, following the ants that had made their home inside. It wasn’t being symbolic. It was being a Pileated Woodpecker — focused, purposeful, following its instinct. But it was impossible not to feel something in that moment. More on that shortly.
Beyond carpenter ants, Pileateds also eat beetle larvae, wild berries, and occasionally nuts. They forage primarily in mature forest with large dead or dying trees, and their presence is often a sign of a healthy, older-growth ecosystem. They nest in large cavities excavated in dead trees, and a single pair may use several different nest trees across a territory of 400 or more hectares.
Pileateds are present year-round in Ontario, but they’re not common backyard visitors. When one does appear at a feeder, it genuinely qualifies as a special event. Large suet cakes and peanut pieces are your best offering. A feeder mounted on a post near large trees gives them room to land and cling comfortably.
Northern Flicker
The Northern Flicker is a woodpecker that constantly surprises people, because it doesn’t behave the way woodpeckers are “supposed” to.
While most woodpeckers work the vertical surfaces of trees, the Flicker spends a lot of its time on the ground, hopping along and digging for ants and beetles in the soil. Seeing a woodpecker foraging on a lawn is one of the more reliably startling birding moments for anyone who isn’t expecting it.
In flight, the Flicker gives itself away with a flash of yellow under the wings (the “Yellow-shafted” form common in eastern Ontario) and a bold white rump patch. Up close it’s a beautifully patterned bird — brown with dark barring on the back, a spotted breast, and a red crescent at the back of the neck on males. It’s one of Ontario’s more handsome species once you stop to really look.
Flickers are primarily insectivores, with ants making up the bulk of the diet. They have an unusually long tongue coated in sticky saliva, purpose-built for extracting ants from tunnels in the ground. Beetles round out the insect portion of the menu, and wild berries become increasingly important in fall and winter.
They’re found throughout Ontario during the breeding season, favouring open and semi-open habitats — forest edges, orchards, open woodland, and suburban areas with mature trees. Unlike many woodpeckers, Flickers often nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes rather than excavating fresh ones. Many Flickers migrate south in winter, though some individuals will overwinter in southern Ontario if food is available.
At the feeder, Flickers respond best to suet, peanuts, and platform-style feeders that allow them to feed more horizontally, closer to their natural foraging posture. If you spot one on your lawn in spring, it’s almost certainly there for the ants — and that’s a good thing.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Despite the name, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker’s most noticeable feature is actually its head — blazing red from bill to nape on males, and bright red only at the nape on females. The belly wash of red that gives the species its name is subtle and often hard to see in the field, which has caused more than a little confusion among new birders. Don’t worry about it. Once you’ve seen that brilliant barred black-and-white back and the bold red cap, you won’t need any other field mark.
The Red-Bellied Woodpecker is a relative newcomer to Ontario. Its range has been expanding steadily northward over the past few decades, and it’s now a regular, welcome resident across much of southern Ontario — including right here in the Brighton area. That’s a genuine conservation bright spot in a landscape where many woodland birds are in decline.
In terms of size, the Red-Bellied sits between the Hairy Woodpecker and the Pileated — a medium-to-large woodpecker with a presence. Its call is a distinctive rolling churr, and once you learn it you’ll start hearing them everywhere.
In the wild, Red-Bellieds are opportunistic and adaptable eaters. Insects make up the core of the diet — beetles, ants, and caterpillars extracted from bark — but they also eat acorns, pine seeds, berries, and fruit. One of their most entertaining behaviours is food caching: they’re enthusiastic hoarders, tucking seeds and insects into bark crevices, under shingles, and into other hiding spots to retrieve later. If you see one fly off from your feeder with a bill full of sunflower seeds, it’s almost certainly headed to a pantry somewhere in your yard.
They favour mature deciduous forest and well-treed suburban areas, and they’re year-round residents once established in an area. They nest in cavities they excavate themselves, usually in dead or softened wood, and will occasionally use nest boxes designed for the purpose.
At the feeder, Red-Bellieds are enthusiastic and bold. Suet, peanuts, and sunflower seeds all bring them in reliably. They’ll visit both tube feeders and platform feeders, and they’re confident enough to hold their own even when Blue Jays are around. If you haven’t had one at your feeders yet, keep the suet stocked — they’re likely closer than you think.
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker is one of Ontario’s more distinctive woodpecker species, and one of the more misunderstood. If you’ve ever noticed neat, horizontal rows of small holes drilled into a tree trunk — evenly spaced, almost architectural — there’s a very good chance a sapsucker was responsible.
These birds drill what are called sap wells: shallow holes that fill with tree sap, which the sapsucker returns to drink. The sap wells also attract insects, which the sapsucker eats as well. Hummingbirds, warblers, and other small birds frequently visit active sap wells too, making a sapsucker’s territory a kind of unintentional feeding station for other species.
The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker is an eye-catching bird — a bold red cap and red throat on males (females have a white throat), a black-and-white body with a prominent white wing stripe, and a yellowish wash on the belly that gives the species its name. They’re the only sapsucker species that breeds in eastern North America, and they’re a regular migrant and summer breeder across Ontario. In spring and fall, they pass through backyards that might not otherwise host them, which makes those brief appearances all the more exciting.
Their diet is primarily tree sap and the insects attracted to their sap wells, supplemented by berries and other small fruits, particularly in summer and fall. They’re less likely to excavate deeply into wood than other woodpeckers, relying more on their methodical sap wells and surface-level foraging. Birch, maple, and apple trees are particular favourites for well-drilling.
At the feeder, suet is the most reliable draw. They’ll also come to fruit offerings — sliced apples and orange halves work well — and have occasionally been recorded visiting sugar water feeders designed for hummingbirds. If you have a sapsucker working trees in your yard, watch for the characteristic rows of wells and the birds returning to them throughout the day.
Red-Headed Woodpecker
The Red-Headed Woodpecker is one of the most visually striking birds in Ontario, full stop.
The plumage is tricolour and bold: an entirely red head, a pure white body, and a glossy black back with white wing patches that flash dramatically in flight. There’s no subtlety here. When a Red-Headed Woodpecker lands near a feeder, everyone in the yard knows it.
Beyond the looks, this species has a few behaviours that set it apart from other Ontario woodpeckers. It’s one of the only woodpeckers that regularly catches insects in mid-air, flycatcher-style — sallying out from a perch to snatch a flying insect and returning to the same spot. It’s also an avid food cacher, hiding acorns, nuts, and insects in crevices and under bark to retrieve later. Unlike some other woodpeckers, it’s well-adapted to open habitats — favouring woodlands with large old trees, forest edges, orchards, and areas with standing dead timber.
Here’s the difficult truth about Red-Headed Woodpeckers in Ontario: they are a Species at Risk. Habitat loss — the removal of old-growth trees and standing dead snags — has significantly reduced their numbers over the past several decades. Seeing one in your backyard is genuinely special. It’s not a common occurrence in most of Ontario, and when it happens, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate it.
Their wild diet is broad: insects (caught in the air, from bark, or from the ground), acorns and other nuts, berries, and cached food. At the feeder, they respond to suet, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. Creating habitat — leaving standing dead trees when it’s safe to do so, avoiding pesticide use that depletes insect populations — is arguably as important as feeder choice when it comes to supporting this species.
When a Red-Headed Woodpecker visits, let yourself feel it. It’s a rare gift.
What Do Woodpeckers Eat at the Feeder?
Across all seven species, a few foods come up again and again: suet, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and for some species, fruit. Suet is the cornerstone — it’s rich in fat and protein, it mimics the energy density of the insects these birds eat in the wild, and every Ontario woodpecker species will eat it.
At The Birdhouse, we carry three products that cover the woodpecker feeder setup beautifully:
Squirrel Buster Peanut Feeder — Brome’s weight-sensitive squirrel-proof feeder is purpose-built for peanuts, whole or halved. Woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and jays love it; squirrels can’t access it. It’s a clean, effective solution for one of the most woodpecker-friendly foods you can offer.
Squirrel Buster Suet Feeder — Brome’s proven squirrel-proof mechanism applied to a suet-specific feeder. Woodpeckers cling and feed naturally; squirrels are foiled every time. It’s built to hold standard suet cakes and positions birds in a natural head-down foraging posture that the larger species particularly appreciate.
Premium Suet Cakes — We carry premium suet in multiple blends: nut suet, insect suet, peanut butter suet, and berry suet. These are high-quality, weather-resistant cakes rich in the fat and protein woodpeckers need, especially through fall and winter. Every suet and feeder purchase earns you loyalty points toward discounts on your next visit — a good reason to stock up before the cold sets in.
The Spiritual Meaning of Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are symbols of persistence. The drumming — that rhythmic, relentless knocking — is a reminder that meaningful things take time and effort. Keep going. Knock on the door again. There’s something worth reaching on the other side of the work.
In many Indigenous North American traditions, the woodpecker represents rhythm, timing, and the wisdom of listening before you strike. A woodpecker doesn’t simply begin hammering. It listens first — detecting the faint movement of insects beneath the bark, reading the wood before it commits. There is real wisdom in that approach: slow down, pay attention, understand what’s underneath the surface before you act with purpose.
A woodpecker appearing unexpectedly — especially a large, dramatic species — is often interpreted as an invitation to look more deeply at something. To go beneath the surface of a situation you’ve been circling. To stop skimming and start listening.
And then there is the memorial tree.
When the Pileated Woodpecker arrived at Daniel Decouvreur’s hand-carved tribute to Connie Crowe — the woman who built this store from the ground up in 1993 and ran it with such dedication for so many years — and began methodically working through every crack and crevice in that sculpture, following what lay hidden beneath the surface, it was hard not to feel the weight of it.
Connie Crowe built something beautiful and lasting here. The Birdhouse has been a part of this community for over three decades, and the care she put into it is still present in the walls, in the customers who’ve been coming for years, in the way this place feels when you walk in. The Pileated, in its own quiet, purposeful way, seemed to acknowledge that.
I don’t want to oversell the moment. It was a bird doing what birds do. But sometimes the world arranges itself in ways that feel meaningful, and this was one of those times.
Tips for Attracting Woodpeckers to Your Brighton-Area Backyard
Place feeders near trees. Woodpeckers are most comfortable when they can move between the feeder and a nearby perch. Mounting a suet cage directly on a tree trunk is ideal. At minimum, keep feeders within a few metres of cover.
Use the right feeder for squirrel control. A squirrel raiding a suet feeder will deter woodpeckers and cost you product quickly. The Squirrel Buster Suet Feeder solves this cleanly. For peanuts, the Squirrel Buster Peanut Feeder gives woodpeckers and other birds reliable access without the squirrel competition.
Try striped sunflower to outsmart starlings. All seven of Ontario’s woodpeckers can crack a striped sunflower seed with ease — but European Starlings can’t. If starlings are bullying your feeders and chasing away the birds you actually want, switching to striped sunflower is a simple, effective fix that woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches will thank you for.
Leave dead trees standing when it’s safe. Standing dead wood — snags — is woodpecker habitat. It’s where they forage for insects, where they nest, where they cache food. If a dead tree in your yard isn’t a safety risk, leaving it is one of the best things you can do for local woodpeckers.
Keep suet fresh. Suet can go rancid in warm weather, and birds will avoid it when it does. In summer, check your suet regularly and replace it more frequently. Premium suet — like what we carry at The Birdhouse — holds up better than cheap grocery-store alternatives, but even good suet needs attention in the heat.
Quality matters. Budget suet often contains more filler than fat, reducing its appeal to the birds you’re trying to attract. Our premium suet blends are formulated to hold up in weather and deliver real nutritional value. Stock up and earn loyalty points toward your next visit — a full suet supply through winter is one of the best investments you can make for your backyard birds.
Come See Us in Brighton
Whether you’re setting up your first woodpecker feeder or adding to a yard full of regulars, we’re here to help you find what works. Stop by The Birdhouse in Brighton — have a look at the Squirrel Buster feeders and suet selection in person — or shop online at thebirdhouse.ca. Every purchase earns loyalty points you can put toward your next visit.
Woodpeckers have a way of slowing you down. That drumming in the distance, that flash of red and black at the feeder — these moments are invitations to look up from what you’re doing and pay attention to the wild world just outside your window. And if a Pileated ever arrives in your yard, let yourself be moved. You’ll know why when it happens.
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