South · Mississippi Flyway
Woodpeckers in Tennessee
Woodpeckers in Tennessee come down to 7 species with regular eBird records, led by the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Together they account for 670,646 of the 8.7 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 7.7% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Red-headed 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 Tennessee: 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) — 219,799 records, 2.5% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) — 198,092 records, 2.3% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — 86,638 records, 1.0% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from September to March and peaking in October.
4. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) — 76,245 records, 0.9% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) — 35,221 records, 0.4% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) — 31,723 records, 0.4% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in December.
7. Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) — 22,928 records, 0.3% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When to see woodpeckers in Tennessee
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, woodpeckers are most prominent in October, December and November and least in July and May. 5 of the 7 species are year-round — Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and Red-headed Woodpecker — so there is no month without them.
Winter visitors. Northern Flicker arrives around September and leaves after March (peak October); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrives around October and leaves after March (peak December).
Attracting woodpeckers to Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee: FAQ
How many species of woodpeckers are there in Tennessee?
7 species of woodpeckers have regular eBird records in Tennessee (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Red-headed Woodpecker.
What is the most common woodpecker in Tennessee?
The Red-bellied Woodpecker, with 219,799 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Downy Woodpecker with 198,092. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see woodpeckers in Tennessee?
October, December and November, when the combined share of Tennessee eBird records belonging to woodpeckers is highest. Winter visitors such as the Northern Flicker arrive around September.
More birds in Tennessee
Woodpeckers in other states
Woodpeckers in Tennessee: 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: Tennessee 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.