Dryobates pubescens
Downy Woodpecker
The everyday woodpecker at almost every American suet cake.
The smallest and most confiding US woodpecker, and the single most likely bird at any suet feeder coast to coast. Downies are sparrow-sized, live in nearly every wooded neighborhood on the continent, and treat a reliable cake as part of their daily winter route.
Range
Year-round across almost the entire US and Canada — absent only from Hawaii, the treeless deserts, and the driest parts of the Southwest.
Seasonal habits
A true resident: the same pair often works the same few acres all year. Suet visits ramp up with the first frosts, peak in deep winter when insects are locked away under bark, and continue through spring, when parents bring wobbly fledglings to the cake in June.
How to identify one
- Tiny — barely bigger than a chickadee; black-and-white checkered wings, white back stripe
- Male shows a small red patch on the back of the head
- Short, stubby bill — the best mark against the look-alike Hairy Woodpecker
At the suet feeder
Downies take suet, peanuts, and sunflower hearts, and being light, they can use any feeder style — including upside-down cages that exclude starlings. A pair will visit dozens of times a day in cold weather.
Feeding one this winter? Homemade cakes beat store-bought — one part fat, one part peanut butter, three parts dry.
Suet cake recipe calculatorWhere to find the Downy Woodpecker
| State | Status | Start suet by |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Alaska | Year-round resident | Any month |
| Arizona | Rare / occasional | November 15 in the deserts, October 1 above the Rim |
| Arkansas | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| California | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Colorado | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Connecticut | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Delaware | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Florida | Year-round resident | December 1 in north Florida |
| Georgia | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Idaho | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Illinois | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Indiana | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Iowa | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Kansas | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Kentucky | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Louisiana | Year-round resident | November 15 |
| Maine | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Maryland | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Massachusetts | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Michigan | Year-round resident | September 15 in the U.P., October 1 downstate |
| Minnesota | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Mississippi | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Missouri | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Montana | Year-round resident | September 1 |
| Nebraska | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Nevada | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| New Hampshire | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| New Jersey | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| New Mexico | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| New York | Year-round resident | September 15 upstate, October 1 downstate |
| North Carolina | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| North Dakota | Year-round resident | September 1 |
| Ohio | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Oklahoma | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Oregon | Year-round resident | October 1 for the winter ramp-up |
| Pennsylvania | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Rhode Island | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| South Carolina | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| South Dakota | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Tennessee | Year-round resident | November 1 |
| Texas | Year-round resident | November 15 in the north and Hill Country |
| Utah | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Vermont | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Virginia | Year-round resident | October 15 |
| Washington | Year-round resident | October 1 for the winter ramp-up |
| West Virginia | Year-round resident | October 1 |
| Wisconsin | Year-round resident | September 15 |
| Wyoming | Year-round resident | September 1 |
FeederDates › Suet › Species › Downy Woodpecker