There are over 300 species of woodpeckers in the world, about 17 of which are found in North America. Of those species we’ve learned that there are 7 species of woodpeckers in Kentucky. Out of these, several are year-round residents to the state while others just live there part of the time.
(The Red-cockaded Woodpecker unfortunately did not make this list of woodpeckers in Kentucky, since they were extirpated from the state in the early 2000s.)
Be sure to read to the end where we’ll talk about how to attract woodpeckers to your yard.
Enjoy!
Woodpeckers in the state of Kentucky
The 7 species of woodpeckers found in Kentucky are the Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
For each species we’ll have a picture to help you identify it, a bit about its size, a brief description with some fun facts, as well as where and how they can be found in the state of Kentucky.s
1. Downy Woodpecker
Length: 5.5-6.7 in
Weight: 0.7-1.0 oz
Wingspan: 9.8-11.8 in
Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest of all woodpeckers in North America and can be found in Kentucky all year throughout the whole state. They are very common at feeders and easily attracted with suet, peanuts, mixed seed, or black sunflower seed.
Whenever I put up a new feeder in my yard Downys are always among the first to visit it along with chickadees and titmice. They do not migrate and are also very common in the winter time.
Aside from being frequent visitors at bird feeders they also will hammer away at trees looking for insect larvae or feed on berries and acorns. It is not unusual to catch a Downy Woodpecker drinking nectar from a hummingbird feeder. Downy Woodpeckers prefer nesting in dead trees or dead branches on live trees.
2. Hairy Woodpecker
