Identifying the common Woodpeckers of the Southeastern United States
- Birds of West Cobb
- Feb 20, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2025
In this blog post, Birds of West Cobb shares some information to help you when identifying the common woodpeckers of the Southeastern United States
If you're interested in what to feed these incredible birds, please click here or scroll to the bottom of this blog for more detail! ~BOWC
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
First, I’d like to introduce you to Lisa’s favorite of our local Woodpeckers. When we first started feeding the backyard birds together, this one stood out so much that she had to name him “Scoob”. Scoob is our resident Red-bellied Woodpecker. He comes down from a tall skinny hardwood tree by our deck and then lands on the handrail. From here he usually scoots along or hops over to the food plate. He sometimes scarfs down 5 or 6 suet balls (C&S Suet Nuggets) before flying back up into the tree. He ate so many of these in that first year that we nicknamed the Suet Nuggets “Scoob Balls”.
Red-Headed Woodpecker
You might be surprised to know that the old Looney Toon “Woody Woodpecker” was modeled after a real-life creature. You may be even more surprised to know that this is another species we can actually see on our bird feeders here in Marietta Georgia! This one was outside of Marietta (Duluth) however, we have seen them nearby at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield park also. Meet “Woodrow” the Red-headed Woodpecker:
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Another woodpecker you might see in the Winter months but also similar in size: The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We didn’t make up the name either! We’ve only captured him a few times, usually on cold, windy days when there aren’t many insects out. He is very shy and flies away quickly at the slightest sign of people.
While the Yellow-bellied sapsucker is an occasional visitor, the next woodpecker species are far more common.
Downy Woodpecker
We even see them taking turns on the suet-cake feeders we put up. Robert and Roberta are our resident Downy Woodpeckers (Robert is shown below with red coloring on his head, Roberta is the female on the left which lacks red) These are the smallest woodpeckers in North America! The male always has the small red patch, while the female is completely black and white. Note: If comparing these woodpeckers with the larger Hairy Woodpeckers, it is important to note the beak size here is quite small and pointy. The Hairy woodpecker is larger by easily double, and the beak is much larger proportionally as well!
Hairy Woodpecker
Just as common as the Downy Woodpecker, the Hairy Woodpecker (shown below on the left-side of the feeder), which looks nearly identical at a glance but is almost twice the size of the Downy Woodpecker. These two are females, you can tell this easily because there is no red visible on either of their heads.
Pileated Woodpecker
On some occasions, you may even get a chance to see the largest Woodpecker in North America in your yard, which would be the massive Pileated Woodpecker! This bird is absolutely massive and makes the Red-bellied, Red-headed, Hairy and Yellow-bellied sapsuckers look small in comparison. We used to joke that it seemed like a Pterodactyl was visiting the yard! These giant birds require large mature trees to nest in, so national parks or very old subdivisions are good places to spot them. Lucky for us, we are very close to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield park, and there are hundreds of acres of trees which provide food and shelter for these amazing birds. The male and the female both have red on top of their heads, but the male has red below the beak as well. The photo below shows a female, as the male will have red coloration along the beak line whereas the female will only appear white/black.
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted variety)
While the next one is not a “Woodpecker” by name, it’s definitely in the family. The Northern Flicker is usually found on tree trunks near the ground, and sometimes even hopping around in flower beds or near rotting log piles. We named our first flicker that visited "Norbert", but he prefers “Norbie” for short. Here you can see Norbie watching the Suet feeder, awaiting his turn. Male Northern Flickers have a very defining "mustache" or dark feathers along the beak line. Females will not have this line.
What type of Bird Feeders should I use for attracting Woodpeckers?
We've made this part easy for you - just click any of the images below and we'll navigate you to the product page on Amazon and you'll be able to add it to your cart!
Basic Cage feeders or Composite Cage-Style Suet Feeders
A composite feeder is easy to clean, less likely to deteriorate/decay/rot, but also last a long time for these same reasons. The "Cage" is just to hold onto the suet cake so that it doesn't fall out, meanwhile the woodpeckers (and other species like nuthatches and warblers) can still reach in through the cage structure to access the suet.
Upside-down Suet Feeders
Suet feeders are great, and we strongly recommend adding one to your feeder mix. However, sometimes they can be a bit problematic. Grackles, Starlings, Cowbirds may congregate on these vertical feeders and chase off the birds that you hope to see. They can be seen as pests because they will eat ALL of the available food very quickly and even chase off the smaller birds. How do you handle this? Seasonally, you may need to swap out your vertical feeders with hanging upside-down feeders that only the woodpeckers can cling onto to access the suet above. When the pesty flocks move on, you can swap them out again. Usually late spring here in the South, most of these pesty flocks have left the area.
Suet Nugget Feeders
Suet Nuggets are small round balls of suet, and they make them with different "flavors" including berry or insect or peanut butter. But how can you dispense these suet nuggets easily? We often use a ceramic or terracotta plate, but they make some cool feeders that are designed specifically for this type of bird food. This way you can safely hang them on a post with a baffle, away from ground-rodents or tree squirrels!
What is Suet exactly?
Suet is essentially a mixture of beef fat, peanut butter, nuts, and sometimes even insects. You can make your own, or buy it very, very cheaply. We prefer to buy it because the cost:time ratio is significantly higher if you DIY. Just look at the price of nuts and peanut butter these days! For that reason, Suet Cakes and Suet Nuggets (balls) are the most typical types you'll see us using in our photos and videos.
Are all suet cakes the same?
No, suet cakes can vary widely by manufacturer! They aren't regulated like Food and Beverages are for people, but like most things in life you actually get what you pay for. We generally prefer to use C&S products Suet, but the store brand from Wild Birds Unlimited is also quite excellent. In the Winter months, we use C&S Woodpecker Treat suet cakes. In the Summer months where the temps are much higher and suet has a tendency to "melt", we opt for the C&S No-melt suet cakes instead. The birds don't mind it and it stays in place much better than the softer density food in the hot weather.
Some of the issues you could face with using super cheap / low-quality suet? We've seen moldy seeds, furry suet cakes, and once even found pantry moths. These tiny insects are a REAL pain to get rid of once they've made their appearance. Any bird seed, suet etc should be stored in very thick air-tight containers to prevent these sorts of pests from getting in, or getting out!