{"id":9458,"date":"2021-09-11T07:27:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T07:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=9458"},"modified":"2021-09-13T22:01:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T22:01:12","slug":"woodpecker-nesting-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/woodpecker-nesting-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Woodpecker Nesting Habits [A Simple Guide]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that woodpeckers use their sharp beaks for more than just finding food? They also use them for hollowing out cavities in wood for their nests. Want to learn more about this process and other woodpecker nesting habits? You\u2019ve come to the right place! Read on to learn more about how woodpeckers make their nests, how many eggs they lay, and how they raise their young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Do Woodpeckers Make Their Nests?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Woodpeckers<\/a> typically build their nests in hollowed-out parts of tree trunks. The hollows have to be large enough to support both adult woodpeckers and several growing babies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most often, woodpeckers create these hollows by pounding on the wood<\/a> and slowly chipping it away.<\/strong> With most woodpecker species, the male does most of the work of constructing the hollows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes woodpeckers will nest in available wooden birdhouses rather than building their own hollows. <\/strong>If you want to attract woodpeckers to your area, set out a large birdhouse or two in your yard and place peanut butter or sunflower seeds nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Woodpeckers Use the Same Nest Each Year?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It depends on the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most woodpecker species make new nests every spring.<\/strong> They do this because their old nests are usually a mess–full of feces, pieces of egg shells, and old food, making them unfit for raising another batch of babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a nest is no small feat though. It usually takes the male woodpecker about 3-6 weeks to hollow out a hole in the tree, then even longer for both the male and female to build the nest inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some woodpecker species, that takes way too much work. There are a few species, most notably red-headed and acorn woodpeckers, who will return to the same nest, clean it out, and reuse it year after year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do these species reuse their nests? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study<\/a> done on acorn woodpeckers found that this species tends to reuse nests to save time and effort on constructing new nests. This may be the driving reason behind every woodpecker species that reuses old nesting areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, though, most species do not reuse their nests, instead opting to start fresh with a new nest each year. Some of these species include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n