Downy Woodpeckers in Alberta

Downy Woodpeckers live in Alberta all year. Cold winters broken by chinook thaws in the south. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward insect larvae in goldenrod galls and bark; suet, peanuts and sunflower at feeders.

Continental — prairie in the southeast, aspen parkland in the center, boreal forest in the north and the Rockies in the west.

Across Alberta, downy woodpeckers typically nest from May–June. Nest site: excavates its own cavity in dead wood; uses roost boxes in winter. Females lay 3–8 eggs, incubate for 12 days, and young leave the nest after 18–21 days.

Warm, sunny summers with long days.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before April — downy woodpeckers begin prospecting ahead of egg-laying.
• Use a 1 1/4 in round entrance on a 4 × 4 in floor, mounted 5–20 ft, box packed with wood shavings.
• Fit a pole baffle or hole guard; ventilation gaps and drainage holes are essential.
• Clean out old nests after each brood and again after June.

Of the regional native plants we track for Alberta, these 8 provide food or cover downy woodpeckers use:

The smallest North American woodpecker and the most frequent at feeders. A tail-prop suet feeder gives them a natural feeding posture.

• Best foods: Suet, Shelled peanuts, Black-oil sunflower, Hulled sunflower.
• In Alberta's winter: Cold winters broken by chinook thaws in the south.

Full diet breakdown for downy woodpeckers · Best feeder for downy woodpeckers