Red-bellied Woodpeckers in Texas

Red-bellied Woodpeckers live in Texas all year. Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward acorns, pecans, pine seeds and fruit.

Humid subtropical in the east and along the Gulf, semi-arid to arid in the west; long, hot summers and short, mild winters over most of the state.

Across Texas, red-bellied woodpeckers typically nest from March–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.

Afternoon highs regularly exceed 95°F — nest boxes need shade or light-colored, ventilated construction, and water matters as much as food.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before February — 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 Texas, 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 Texas's winter: Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.

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