South · Central Flyway
Woodpeckers in Texas
Woodpeckers in Texas come down to 14 species with regular eBird records, led by the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Together they account for 1,380,677 of the 35 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 3.9% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Lewis's Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker. 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 Texas: 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) — 356,141 records, 1.0% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) — 275,691 records, 0.8% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) — 254,129 records, 0.7% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris) — 237,247 records, 0.7% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — 88,439 records, 0.3% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in October.
6. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) — 63,978 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
7. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) — 54,367 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in December.
8. Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) — 21,581 records, 0.06% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to October and peaking in August.
9. Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) — 15,641 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from May to October and peaking in August.
10. Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) — 6,670 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
11. Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) — 2,910 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in October, November and December with a peak in October.
12. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) — 2,776 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
The remaining 2 species — Lewis's Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker — are recorded regularly but in smaller numbers; see the cards above for their status.
When to see woodpeckers in Texas
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, woodpeckers are most prominent in October, December and September and least in April and May. 7 of the 14 species are year-round — Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker and 1 more — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Red-headed Woodpecker arrives around April and is mostly gone after October (peak August); Acorn Woodpecker arrives around May and is mostly gone after October (peak August).
Winter visitors. Northern Flicker arrives around October and leaves after March (peak October); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrives around October and leaves after March (peak December); Lewis's Woodpecker arrives around October and leaves after January (peak October).
Passage migrants. Red-naped Sapsucker is reported mainly in October, November and December; Williamson's Sapsucker is reported mainly in October, November and December.
Attracting woodpeckers to Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas: FAQ
How many species of woodpeckers are there in Texas?
14 species of woodpeckers have regular eBird records in Texas (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Lewis's Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker.
What is the most common woodpecker in Texas?
The Red-bellied Woodpecker, with 356,141 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Downy Woodpecker with 275,691. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see woodpeckers in Texas?
October, December and September, when the combined share of Texas eBird records belonging to woodpeckers is highest. Summer visitors such as the Red-headed Woodpecker arrive around April. Winter visitors such as the Northern Flicker arrive around October.
More birds in Texas
Woodpeckers in other states
Woodpeckers in Texas: 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: Texas 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.