Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

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Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Melanerpes
Species:	carolinus

Regional

This bird has been reportedly found in the following regions:

Albertville, Alabama

Harrison, Arkansas

Lowell, Arkansas

Marble Falls, Arkansas

North Haven, Connecticut

Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Sandy Hook, Connecticut

Beverly Hills, Florida

Big Pine Key, Florida

Daytona Beach, Florida

Hollister, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida (2 reports)

Lecanto, Florida

Lutz, Florida

Melbourne, Florida

Miami, Florida (2 reports)

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Saint James City, Florida

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

Sebastian, Florida

West Palm Beach, Florida

Augusta, Georgia

Byron, Georgia

Dacula, Georgia

Dallas, Georgia (2 reports)

Tyrone, Georgia

Algonquin, Illinois

Cherry Valley, Illinois

Hinsdale, Illinois

Machesney Park, Illinois

Rock Falls, Illinois

Tinley Park, Illinois

Westchester, Illinois

Carmel, Indiana

Coatesville, Indiana

Corunna, Indiana

Patriot, Indiana

Yale, Iowa

Shawnee Mission, Kansas

Alvaton, Kentucky

Benton, Kentucky

Calvert City, Kentucky

Ewing, Kentucky

Hebron, Kentucky

Irvine, Kentucky

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Shapleigh, Maine

South China, Maine

Hanover, Maryland

Linthicum Heights, Maryland

Oakland, Maryland

Silver Spring, Maryland

Halifax, Massachusetts

Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Bark River, Michigan

Belleville, Michigan

Blissfield, Michigan

Chesaning, Michigan

Constantine, Michigan

Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Traverse City, Michigan

Golden, Mississippi

Marietta, Mississippi

Cole Camp, Missouri

Conway, Missouri

Galena, Missouri

Gerald, Missouri

Saint Louis, Missouri

Saint Robert, Missouri

Elkhorn, Nebraska

Beachwood, New Jersey

Butler, New Jersey

Mahwah, New Jersey

Marlton, New Jersey

Millville, New Jersey

Wenonah, New Jersey

Chester, New York

Clifton Park, New York

Geneva, New York

Himrod, New York

Pittsford, New York

Syracuse, New York

Yonkers, New York

Cary, North Carolina

Concord, North Carolina

Gold Hill, North Carolina

Pfafftown, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina (2 reports)

Barberton, Ohio

Bartlett, Ohio

Bucyrus, Ohio

Chillicothe, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Geneva, Ohio

Haskins, Ohio

Lakeview, Ohio

Mansfield, Ohio

Newark, Ohio

Ravenna, Ohio

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Downingtown, Pennsylvania

East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Kintnersville, Pennsylvania

Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

West Kingston, Rhode Island

Lancaster, South Carolina

Summerville, South Carolina

Elizabethton, Tennessee

Jonesborough, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Summertown, Tennessee

Tullahoma, Tennessee

Austin, Texas (3 reports)

Cleburne, Texas

Copperas Cove, Texas

Fort Worth, Texas (2 reports)

Houston, Texas (4 reports)

La Porte, Texas

Lufkin, Texas

Magnolia, Texas

Mc Kinney, Texas

Needville, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

Spring, Texas

Newbury, Vermont

, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Broad Run, Virginia

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Hurt, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Canvas, West Virginia

Brodhead, Wisconsin

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Members' Notes:

positives

neutral

negatives

Rating	Content
Positive	On Feb 7, 2018, seriousbaker from New York City, NY wrote: Our first sighting Feb. 4th late morning in Old Saybrook Ct. I had mixed some meal worms and finch food in with our usual bird seed. We just scatter it on our deck. Several chickadees and juncos were there too. The woodpecker flew into a nearby juniper as I approached the window. The other birds ignored me since they are regulars. Spent a long time with Sibley confirming it was a Red- bellied.
Positive	On Nov 14, 2016, PattyOelze from Galena, MO wrote: I love these birds. Ever since we moved to the Ozarks we have had hundreds of bird visitors and these are one of my favorites. I have had many "discussions" (arguments) about their name on my Facebook page! [[email protected]] So many people try to tell me that this is a Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), which we have too, so I post pictures of that bird too. LOL. The birds here are so used to us now that they will continue to eat at the feeders while I BBQ right next to them. Thanks for the great article!
Positive	On Aug 20, 2012, MiamiHeatwave from Miami, FL (Zone 11) wrote: For over seven years, I have seen many generations of this beautiful bird, nest in the wooden post for the electrical power in the corner of our street I have the pleasure of enjoying their presence in the watering spot, I had built for birds and bees, so you can imagine how I felt, when one morning before going to work I noticed a city crew working in the process of replacing the wooden posts for concrete ones I was devastated, but I understood the need for these "modern" monsters for an area that had, been affected by hurricanes in the past But a typical "error" from the city government took place, and now we have three posts and only one made of concrete, with a new generation of red bellied woodpeckers and another that I have not been able ... read more
Positive	On Jan 23, 2012, chris1948 from Copperas Cove, TX (Zone 8a) wrote: Nice that it's been a warm winter here so far, sitting on the front patio on the weekends and watching these two is really enjoyable. The male loves to come down and steal peanuts from the squirrel feeder which is only fair as the squirrel kept taking the woodpecker blocks and running off with them though I've fixed that. The female though is pretty skittish and is really hard to catch at the feeders.They always announce themselves and seem to materialize out of nowhere on the trunk of the tree. Love to watch how they hop around, really funny.
Positive	On Aug 12, 2011, xiamenmom from Dallas, GA (Zone 7a) wrote: Have had a breeding pair in the yard all summer, and have now started bringing their offspring to the feeder. Fun to watch, very colorful, not at all aggressive despite their size
Positive	On Apr 8, 2011, Treehugger73 from Machesney Park, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: Have a male and female visiting my backyard regularly, for about two weeks now. They seem to be enjoying the food, and the beat up, half dead tree as well. They're fun to watch!
Positive	On Mar 24, 2011, teddy_8905 from Lakeview, OH wrote: I am relatively new to photographing birds, and I love these birds, they are fun to watch, I have a upside down feeder and they love it, and its fun to watch them hang upside down. We also have a Cottonwood tree out front and they love to perch on that. I hope this summer they come more often because we have ants in it and they are welcome to eat all they want. My hubby saw two of them on the upside down feeder at the same time, I haven't but he got lucky enough to.
Positive	On Feb 7, 2010, mom2goldens from Carmel, IN (Zone 5b) wrote: We are fortunate enough to have this beauty visit our feeders; we see him regularly in the winter, but rarely in the summer. He usually ignores the seed and suet feeders in favor of peanuts in the shell. Although he never stays long enough to open and eat his peanut, he returns quickly for another.
Positive	On Jan 26, 2010, Weedwhacker from Bark River, MI wrote: A beautiful woodpecker that we never saw around here until a couple of years ago. We had to remove 2 large hybrid poplars from our that were nearly dead, which these birds seemed to hang out in, so I hope they will stay around. We're surrounded by woods with lots of trees, both dead and alive, so I don't imagine it will be an issue - but we may not see them as often.
Positive	On Jan 26, 2010, bsgardens from Jacksonville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote: My hubby and I love this bird. They are so very colorful. We love having them around, they let us know what trees are infested with bugs and having issues. We don't tend to see them in healthy trees. They also like to hang out with our blue jays at the bird feeder.
Neutral	On Jan 28, 2009, DebinSC from Georgetown, SC (Zone 8a) wrote: If you have feeders, you can generally tell when one is about to visit since they tend to announce themselves in advance with a loud "chuck chuck".
Positive	On Dec 27, 2008, plantladylin from (Zone 1) wrote: The Red-Bellied Woodpecker is found throughout the state of Florida where I live. Breeding occurs from April through June. Diet for the Red-Bellied Woodpecker consists of seeds, nuts and insects as well as suet, raisins and even the pulp and juice of oranges.
Positive	On Dec 26, 2008, Mrs_Ed from Whiteside County, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: A really fun woodpecker to see in the yard. Forages for insects on the trees and loves suet but will also eat from other feeders. The male has red hood extending all the way to the forehead while the female has the back of the neck only.