We also participate in other affiliate programs. Since Downy woodpeckers don’t migrate, they are among the few beds whose high population dominates the winter season in Michigan. Young red-headed woodpeckers will have brown heads rather than the trademark red colour. Black-backed woodpeckers are usually only found in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and even still they are not a common occurrence. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are mostly black with light under bodies, yellow and black chests, and red feathers above and below their beaks. Those living in the more northern and western parts of their range migrate short distances south in winter. Our home is near many old dead huge oak trees and black walnut trees. They like to hunt bugs out of the air, which like the Lewis’s woodpecker is an unusual trait. Pileated woodpeckers are the largest woodpecker species in North America (if you assume that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is truly extinct!). Lincoln Brick Park is also notable for hosting Golden Eagles, an added bonus for any avid bird watcher. Woodpeckers: Picoides Most people in Michigan are unfamiliar with the Black-backed woodpecker. Red-bellied woodpeckers are most common in the southern half of the lower peninsula. Length: 9.1 in Weight: 2.1-3.1 oz Wingspan: 15.8-16.5 in. This helps create nesting opportunities for all of the birds that must find used nest holes like chickadees, nuthatches, bluebirds, and owls. They are not a common occurrence anywhere in the world, and they bear a resemblance to the American Three-Toed Woodpecker. Black-backed Woodpeckers feed primarily on wood-boring beetle larvae that they bore out of trees. Fortunately, we have managed to visit numerous countries around Europe, Asia, and America. However, some birds in the northernmost part of the range may move further south in the winter. Would that indicate a young or baby bird? Perhaps it’s a relatively new phenomenon and they have expanded their range in recent years. The dead branches on a tree or dead trees are more attractive to Downy Woodpeckers in search of a place to build their nests. Even their flight is different from woodpeckers in that they take slow, gliding, and strong wingbeats, more similar to crows than woodpeckers. The left-behind nests are used by other birds, squirrels, and chipmunks! They don’t mind flocking in large groups when food is plentiful. Livingston County, MI 9/17/2020, Edwardsburg mi eagle lake, male and female pileated more and more often along with Bald eagles adults and juvenile. Hairy woodpeckers are found in Michigan during all seasons. Woodpeckers have a mostly cosmopolitan distribution, although they are absent from Australasia, Madagascar, and Antarctica. Downy Woodpecker. Females tend to migrate farther south than do males.” 8. Red-headed Woodpeckers are birds of pine and other open forests, tree rows, standing timber swamps and other wetlands in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and southern Canada. This season offers you views into a woodland unbroken by foliage and filled with the calls and sightings some of Michigan's noisiest residents, the woodpeckers. Woodpeckers don’t seem like the type of bird to have a furry nose, but they do! They have a remarkably large range and are adaptable to multiple climates. Northern Flickers are very colorful birds found throughout Michigan that frequent backyards. Metamora, MI. As mentioned, there are eight different types of woodpeckers. Sapsuckers will drill holes into birch and maple trees, stick their bills in, and use their long tongues to take in as much sap as they can. If the weather gets too bitterly cold, they can be forced south, although they aren’t a migratory bird. Red-headed woodpeckers are undoubtedly some of the most beautiful woodpecker species out there. They prefer large trees in mature forests for nesting and are capable of drilling massive holes in them (see pic below). They are fairly large in size, noticeably bigger than a hairy woodpecker but much smaller than a Pileated Woodpecker. Generally, they stay for the winters. We mention each type to make it easier to identify them out in the wild. Pileated Woodpeckers are year-round residents to most of the state of Michigan, but less common in the southeastern part of the state. Last on this list of woodpeckers in Michigan is the Black-backed Woodpecker who is only found in the northern most parts of the state. That’s exciting! 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. They are very common at feeders and easily attracted with suet, peanuts, mixed seed, or black sunflower seed. They love creating new nests each time. They are not migratory birds and will remain even in cold Michigan winters, although extreme bitter colds might drive them south, but not on an annual basis. My book that I just got says they Summer in the Western part of Oklahoma and other states and Winter on the NE edge of Oklahoma where we are, along with other states near us.