Red-bellied Woodpeckers in Kansas

Red-bellied Woodpeckers live in Kansas all year. Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward acorns, pecans, pine seeds and fruit.

Continental — humid tallgrass Flint Hills in the east to semi-arid shortgrass prairie in the west.

Across Kansas, red-bellied woodpeckers typically nest from April–July. Nest site: excavated cavity in dead trees; occasionally large nest boxes. Females lay 4–5 eggs, incubate for 12 days, and young leave the nest after 22–27 days.

Hot summers above 95°F; western Kansas is dry, so water draws birds from far away.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before March — red-bellied woodpeckers begin prospecting ahead of egg-laying.
• Use a 2 1/2 in entrance on a 6 × 6 in floor, mounted 12–20 ft.
• Fit a pole baffle or hole guard; ventilation gaps and drainage holes are essential.
• Clean out old nests after each brood and again after July.

Of the regional native plants we track for Kansas, these 8 provide food or cover red-bellied woodpeckers use:

A bold feeder visitor that also takes nectar and oranges. Cache-stores nuts in bark crevices.

• Best foods: Suet, Peanuts, Black-oil sunflower.
• In Kansas's winter: Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover.

Full diet breakdown for red-bellied woodpeckers · Best feeder for red-bellied woodpeckers