Downy Woodpecker

This month’s bird is the Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). Downy Woodpeckers are from a class of birds who use their beaks to peck holes in trees, usually to find insects inside the trees bark to eat or to make a hole to store food for later. Downy Woodpeckers are small, only about 7 inches tall.


     Downy Woodpeckers can be recognized by their shrill cheep-like call or by rapid tapping they make when pecking a tree. The tapping sound is referred to as drumming.


    A great way to encourage Downy Woodpeckers to visit your backyard is to put up a suet feeder, a preferred food for the bird. Downy Woodpeckers are often seen climbing trees, therefore they are occasionally observed in Rancho San Rafael Park, Davis Creek Park and Oxbow Nature Center.

Click Here to learn more about Downy Woodpeckers or to hear their call.
Information retrieved from Audubon and Allaboutbirds.org.