If you’re a Vermont resident and a bird enthusiast, you want to read this. We’re talking about the most fantastic species of woodpeckers in Vermont, which is already home to over 250 species of birds!
So if you’re out and about in the Vermontian woods and spot a cutie pecking away at some tree trunk, refer to this guide to know your woodpeckers in Vermont!
Commonly Found Woodpeckers In Vermont
Well now that I’ve gotten you to read this far, it’s only fair I share the most common woodpeckers you’re likely to find in Vermont. Let’s peck right into it:
Downy Woodpecker
First up, we have the downy woodpecker! Now this one might be hard to spot because it’s tiny. But don’t underestimate it because this small beak produces one of the loudest calls of the woodpecker species.
Also, you can’t mistake this little rebel thanks to its incessant drumming and high-pitch calls, along with the white plumage with a red spot on the head for males. Downies roam around in open woods, orchards, and backyards!
If you want a downy woodpecker to visit your backyard, use sunflower seeds, suet, peanut butter, or even sugar water like hummingbirds, in their feeder.
Hairy Woodpecker
A tad larger relative of the Downy, the hairy woodpecker is named aptly. A great way to tell the downy and hairy apart, except their sizes, is their beaks. Downy has a small beak but hairy has a long one, with spotted tails for the former and completely white for the latter.
As for their calls, Hairy woodpeckers have a low-pitched call with a sharp and rattling “peek” sound. Look for them in tree trunks or branches in woods, parks, and cemeteries. Like downy woodpeckers, use suet or sunflower seeds to draw this type of woodpecker into your backyard.
Northern Flicker
Next on the list is quite a handsome fella, Check out the pop of yellow feathers under their wings and the red on the back of their head. Also, male flickers are characterized by a mustache, as they should be!
If you want to find a northern flicker, your best bet is to look at the ground because, unlike other woodpeckers, they dig through the dirt to find beetles or ants. They forage in the woods, parks, and suburbs. The next time you’re in the woods, listen for a “wicka-wacka-wicka”; that’s a northern flicker!
Pileated Woodpecker
Now these are the big bad boys you were waiting for! The large red triangle crests on their heads are what set them apart. The pileated woodpecker roams around in large forests, also ones with lots of dead trees.
If you’re lucky, they’ll visit your backyard too! Listen for a loud and irregularly pitched call that sounds like “cuk-cuk-cuk”. Pileated woodpeckers are known to visit feeders filled with suet. So with a little bit of suet, you might get lucky to have them in your backyard too!
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Another pretty contender on the list, the red-bellied woodpecker, has red bellies (no surprise there!) and napes; males also have a red spot on their heads. They’re frequent visitors in woods, forests, and also bird-feeders.
A red-bellied woodpecker will sound like this, “ churr-churr”, so if you hear this, you’ve got a red-bellied pecker in the yard! You can draw the red-bellied woodpecker into your yard too, but remember, they’re quite aggressive and are known to attack other birds.
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Commonly mistaken with the red-bellied woodpecker, this bird’s head is doused in a striking red color. They’re beautiful in their almost black-and-white plumage, they’re often called “flying checkerboards”.
Find them foraging through woods, swamps, farms, and savannahs. Look out for high-pitched and shrill calls that don’t roll like the red-bellied, that’s a red-headed woodpecker!
Unfortunately, red-headed woodpecker populations are dwindling. So if you see one around you, admire its flight and invite it to your backyard with sunflower seeds or peanuts, or any nuts for that matter. They love nuts!
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Look for this superstar on maple, hickory, or birch trees, perching on their yellow bellies and red crown and throat for males, and white throat for females.
They rely on the tree sap for their diet and drill into tree trunks to create sapwells themselves. They have a mewing sound that is nasal and may sound like a cat.
Black-Backed Woodpecker
If you haven’t noticed yet, these woodpeckers are named quite appropriately, this black-backed woodpecker is no different! With its black and white mixed plumage, males have a yellow spot on their heads. They have very strong beaks from which they shriek a high-pitched kayak sound. Find them in forests, especially recently burnt or cut ones, and parks.
If you have mature trees, stumps or dead logs in your backyard, you can draw in black-backed woodpeckers. Feeders with seeds and nuts also work!
American Three-Toed Woodpecker
Another small relative of the black-backed woodpecker, thanks to their resemblance, watch out for them in highlands and forests. Their calls are higher pitched than black-backed and have a sharp or nasal klimp sound.
If you want to invite this bird to your backyard, leave a standing dead tree for it to peck and do its thing!
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Named after Meriweather Lewis of the Lewis and Clark pair, this bird has a gray collar, pink belly, and a dark green back. They normally forage in forests and among pine trees, and catch flying insects or eat nuts or fruits. Their calls are a squeaky and sharp burst, so it’s easy to recognize them.
Like the American three-toed woodpecker, leave a standing dead tree and you can expect some pecker guests soon!
Conclusion
If you’re a Vermont-ian or are planning to visit anytime soon, take this guide along when you’re in the woods or forests. Know your downy from hairy, and red-bellied from the red-headed woodpeckers.
If you want to attract woodpeckers into your yard, place bird feeders, birdbaths, woodpecker-friendly trees, or nest boxes in your backyard with some suet for bird seeds, and watch the peckers flock to your space!
FAQs
What Is The Most Common Woodpecker Found In All Regions?
Downy woodpeckers are found all throughout the United States. They’re also some of the smallest peckers in the woodpecker species.
Can You Keep A Woodpecker As A Pet?
It is illegal to keep a woodpecker as a pet, they’re wild birds and require a lot of area to forage and explore. The woodpecker population is decreasing quickly, making them an endangered species.
