Midwest · Mississippi Flyway
Woodpeckers in Michigan
Woodpeckers in Michigan come down to 9 species with regular eBird records, led by the Downy Woodpecker. Together they account for 1,566,528 of the 20 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 8.0% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker and Lewis's 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 Michigan: 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. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) — 463,582 records, 2.4% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) — 417,074 records, 2.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — 292,991 records, 1.5% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) — 199,589 records, 1.0% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) — 114,146 records, 0.6% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) — 39,372 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to October and peaking in April.
7. Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) — 39,000 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
8. Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) — 558 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
9. Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) — 216 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in May with a peak in May.
When to see woodpeckers in Michigan
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, woodpeckers are most prominent in December, January and February and least in June and May. 7 of the 9 species are year-round — Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker and Red-headed Woodpecker and 1 more — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrives around April and is mostly gone after October (peak April).
Passage migrants. Lewis's Woodpecker is reported mainly in May.
Attracting woodpeckers to Michigan 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 Michigan the woodpecker most likely to turn up is the Downy Woodpecker, a year-round resident, followed by the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Its own page covers month-by-month activity and attraction tips for this state.
Woodpeckers in Michigan: FAQ
How many species of woodpeckers are there in Michigan?
9 species of woodpeckers have regular eBird records in Michigan (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker and Lewis's Woodpecker.
What is the most common woodpecker in Michigan?
The Downy Woodpecker, with 463,582 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Red-bellied Woodpecker with 417,074. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see woodpeckers in Michigan?
December, January and February, when the combined share of Michigan eBird records belonging to woodpeckers is highest. Summer visitors such as the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrive around April.
More birds in Michigan
Woodpeckers in other states
Woodpeckers in Michigan: 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: Michigan 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.