Hairy Woodpecker

First and foremost, a hairy woodpecker has NO hair! So bring in the comb you’ve dangled beneath your suet feeder—he doesn’t need it!

Here’s what I love about the bird:

He:

Doesn’t have a loud squawk like a blue jay
Doesn’t empty feeders like a grackle or starling
Doesn’t scold you for a feeder being empty like a chickadee

What the bird will do is fly up to your suet feeders, announce his presence with a single chirp, then take a few bites from the suet cake before flying away.

Attracting the Hairy Woodpecker Is Easy

Hairy woodpeckers are attracted to suet cakes in feeders. You can buy pre-made suet cakes or purchase suet from the butcher and make your own recipe with fruit or seeds to hang out in the yard.

However, be forewarned! If you choose the latter, it will melt in the heat, and frankly, is nasty to work with. Cakes are cheap, so you might better pop for a few at a local birding shop.

Hairy woodpeckers are a clinging bird (as apposed to perching) and so can eat while hanging upside down, clinging sideways or standing on a traditional perch.

This is important to know because there are pest birds willing to overwhelm your suet feeder. Thankfully, they are perchers, not clingers and so we can beat them back.

Use an upside down suet feeder (where suet is only accessible from beneath) to keep non-clinging birds like starlings and grackles from eating it all.

Is the solution perfect?

Nope. But it will bring the problem under control. Don’t worry if a single grackle gets a few morsels now and again. As long as they don’t overwhelm the feeder, your clingers will have a chance to eat.

Aspects 289 Medium Peanut Silo Also, as you can see from the picture to the right, this bird loves shelled peanuts. Again, you may struggle with pests, and so may need to baffle your pole and the feeder to keep away the squirrels. If grackles and starlings become a problem, then you'll need to buy a shelled peanut feeder surrounded by a cage.

There is one additional option available to you. Bird Quest manufactures and electronic baffle that operates on 3 d-size batteries. A squirrels weight activates the motor which then spins the feeder, which you've attached to the baffle.

I don't go in much for gadgets, but this is a pretty effective mechanism. Be forewarned, it only works on tube-style feeders that are under 8 pounds.

Appearance

The male hairy is black and white striped on its wings, head and back. This intersecting pattern of color camouflages the bird from would-be predators such as sharp-shinned and cooper hawks. Also, the male has a small red spot at the back of the head.

The female looks the same, except she lacks the red spot on her head. A hairy is between 8 and 9 1/2” inches long, from head to tail. They have flexible legs, which allow them to cling to the bark of trees, and move around tree trunks and up and down wood siding.

Many a backyard bird watchers confuse the downy with the hairy woodpecker. Well, the way to distinguish them is by size. The hairy is larger than the downy woodpecker.

But a better way to tell one from the other is to look at the beak. The hairy woodpecker beak is nearly as long as its head, whereas the downy woodpecker beak is quite short.

All About

The hairy woodpecker is good to have around. They eat a lot of bugs during the spring and summer months. Occasionally, they will eat plain seed, but only if other food sources are lacking in the area.
This woodpecker lives all across the United States and into southern and western Canada year-round.
The male marks his territory each spring by drumming on hollow trees or logs. Then he finds a mate and later in the spring, they will make a cavity in a tree for nesting.
The female will lay between 3 and 6 white eggs. The pair will share incubation duty for 11 to 15 days until the eggs crack. Babies will then be feed by both parents until they leave the nest 28 to 30 days later.

Hairy woodpeckers will be one of the first visitors to your yard if you have suet and live near some trees. Once you keep feeding them, they will be year-round visitors and bring their offspring, too.

And remember, they don’t have hair and so there’s no need to offer up a comb!

I hope this information about the Hairy Woodpecker has been useful. Click here for more great information about wild birds, bird feeders and bird houses.