Woodpeckers: Nature’s Excavators

By Mic McCarty, Field Trip Coordinator 

Pileated Woodpecker photographed by Mic McCarty.

Woodpeckers play an essential role in forest ecosystems as nature’s excavators, earning their reputation as a keystone family. By chiseling out cavities in trees, woodpeckers create critical nesting sites not only for themselves, but also for numerous other bird species and small mammals.

These abandoned cavities are often reused by owls, bluebirds, squirrels, and other wildlife, greatly enriching local biodiversity. Their ability to modify habitats in this way highlights their importance in maintaining the health and balance of woodland environments.

Locally, there are four common species of woodpecker: the Downy, Red-bellied, Pileated, and Northern Flicker. Less common local woodpeckers include the Red-headed and Hairy Woodpecker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Woodpeckers belong to the order Piciformes and the family Picidae. There are 236 woodpecker species worldwide, of which 22 are endemic to North America. 

One fascinating fact about Pileated Woodpeckers is that ants make up over 50% of their diet. Additionally, ants also make up nearly all of the Northern Flicker’s diet.

Some woodpecker species, such as the Acorn and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, are known to be cooperative breeders, meaning they work together in family groups to raise young, According to the article “The Hole Story: How Woodpeckers Make Homes for the Rest of the Forest” by Marc Devokaitis.

Forest Scientist Kathy Martin concludes, “Around 30% of all forest bird species in North America use tree cavities at some point of their life cycle, whether nesting, hiding from predators, or just finding a warm roosting place to snuggle in on a cold winter’s night.”²

Walters and Virginia Tech PhD student Lori Blanc further confirm Martin’s observation, stating “almost every single tree cavity used by birds and other creatures within a longleaf pine nest-web community in northern Florida originated with a woodpecker—432 [cavities] out of 433.”³ l.

Woodpeckers are fascinating to read about and watch in person or in videos. Here are some great woodpecker resources: 

Birds of the World, available by subscription paid for by TAS to our volunteers, https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow 

Nature by PBS Woodpeckers: the Hole Story, (video) https://www.pbs.org/video/woodpeckers-the-hole-story-xjpqdf/ 

Cornell Bird Academy Course, The Wonderful World of Woodpeckers, 

https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/the-wonderful-world-of-woodpeckers

Bird Families of North America by Pete Dunne and Kevin T. Karlson 2021

Peterson’s Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America, Stephen A. Shunk, 2016

Living Birds Magazine and All About Birds, “The Hole Story: How Woodpeckers Make Homes for the Rest of the Forest” by Marc Devokaitis https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/hole-story-how-woodpeckers-make-homes-forest/