Gila Woodpecker

About the Gila Woodpecker

A common Sonoran Desert woodpecker that excavates nest cavities in saguaro cactus. Visits suet and peanut feeders readily.

When to See Them in Arizona

Year-round. The Gila Woodpecker is a permanent resident in Arizona and one of the most reliable backyard visitors. You can spot them at your feeders in every season. Their population tends to peak in late fall and winter when resident birds flock together and become even more feeder-dependent.

Birding tip: Morning hours — especially the first two hours after sunrise — are when resident species like the Gila Woodpecker are most active and vocal. Set up your feeders in a spot with good sightlines from a window and you'll rarely miss them.

What They Eat

In Arizona, the Gila Woodpecker's diet reflects what's locally available across seasons. At feeders, they're most drawn to Suet, peanuts, fruit, which mirrors the high-energy foods they seek in the wild. Offering the right food in the right feeder is the single biggest factor in successfully attracting Gila Woodpeckers to your yard.

During nesting season, Gila Woodpeckers also rely heavily on insects as a protein source for their young — so a pesticide-free garden benefits them beyond just the feeder.

How to Attract Them to Your Yard

Creating a welcoming habitat for Gila Woodpeckers in Arizona is straightforward once you understand what they need. Here are the most effective steps our experts recommend:

• Hang a suet cage loaded with a high-fat suet cake. Suet provides the caloric density birds need, especially during cold weather.
• Add a peanut feeder or tray filled with shelled or in-shell peanuts. High in protein and fat, peanuts attract Gila Woodpeckers and a wide variety of other backyard species.
• Set out fresh or dried fruit (oranges, raisins, berries) on an open platform feeder. Gila Woodpeckers have excellent color vision and are strongly attracted to red and orange foods.
• Provide a clean water source year-round. A bird bath (heated in cold climates) is one of the best investments you can make — fresh water is often scarcer than food.
• Plant native shrubs and trees that produce berries or shelter nesting birds. Native plants adapted to Arizona's climate are the best choices for your garden.
• Keep feeders within 3 feet or beyond 30 feet of windows to minimize window strike risk — the most common cause of feeder-bird fatalities.
• Clean feeders regularly. Moldy or wet seed drives birds away and can spread disease through your local bird population. WBU No-Mess blends minimize hulls and spoilage.