South · Atlantic Flyway
Woodpeckers in Florida
Woodpeckers in Florida come down to 8 species with regular eBird records, led by the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Together they account for 1,802,512 of the 32 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 5.6% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker. Woodpeckers are the birds you hear before you see: drumming on trunks, excavating nest cavities, and calling loudly from the canopy. Most are year-round residents, and the holes they leave behind become homes for owls, bluebirds, and other cavity nesters.
Woodpeckers in Florida: every species, most-reported first
Every woodpecker with at least 25 eBird records in the state from 2020–2024, most-reported first. The status label is derived from each species’ own monthly share of all state records.
1. Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) — 883,615 records, 2.8% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) — 424,061 records, 1.3% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) — 303,823 records, 0.9% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) — 69,286 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in December.
5. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — 68,156 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) — 41,407 records, 0.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
7. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) — 8,629 records, 0.03% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
8. Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) — 3,535 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When to see woodpeckers in Florida
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, woodpeckers are most prominent in September, October and August and least in January and December. 7 of the 8 species are year-round — Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker and Red-cockaded Woodpecker and 1 more — so there is no month without them.
Winter visitors. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrives around October and leaves after March (peak December).
Attracting woodpeckers to Florida backyards
Suet is the food that brings woodpeckers to feeders, with peanuts and black-oil sunflower seed close behind. Leaving a dead tree or large dead limb standing, where it is safe to do so, is the single most effective habitat step.
In Florida the woodpecker most likely to turn up is the Red-bellied Woodpecker, a year-round resident, followed by the Downy Woodpecker. Its own page covers month-by-month activity and attraction tips for this state.
Woodpeckers in Florida: FAQ
How many species of woodpeckers are there in Florida?
8 species of woodpeckers have regular eBird records in Florida (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker.
What is the most common woodpecker in Florida?
The Red-bellied Woodpecker, with 883,615 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Downy Woodpecker with 424,061. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see woodpeckers in Florida?
September, October and August, when the combined share of Florida eBird records belonging to woodpeckers is highest. Winter visitors such as the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrive around October.
More birds in Florida
Woodpeckers in other states
Woodpeckers in Florida: sources
Every number on this page comes from the EOD – eBird Observation Dataset published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and distributed through GBIF under a CC BY 4.0 license: Florida records from 2020–2024, retrieved 2026-09-18. Species are drawn from the families Picidae; only species with at least 25 records are listed, and a species is called a year-round resident when its monthly share of state records stays above 30% of its own peak in ten or more months. “Records” are individual eBird observations, so they reflect how often birders report a species, not a population count.