There are over 300 species of woodpeckers in the world, and at least 17 species in North America. Out of those, we’ve found that there are 8 species of woodpeckers in North Carolina. Of these, several are year-round residents to North Carolina while others just live there part time.
The 8 species of woodpeckers found in North Carolina are the Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
In this article we’re going to talk about all 8 of these species of woodpeckers in NC. 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.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!
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 North Carolina 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
