Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Downy Woodpecker [lateral view of adult male]: Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 13 February 2012.

Abundance: Common at all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts reveal a probably stable trend in the population residing in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (7 June 1938; Rocky Branch, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [lateral view of female at suet cake feeder] (Stan Hood; Putnam County, Tennessee; October 2007).

Regional High Count and FBC/FBB High Count: 79 (18 September 2010; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 76 (1 January 2001; Pulaski County, Kentucky [Somerset CBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 46 (12 May 2007; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: Resides in extensive woodland or fragmented and manicured suburbia, as well as most other habitats where trees are present, about equally; presence dependent on availability of snags for excavation of roosting and nesting cavities (snag diameter and height above ground may be important factors in determining use by this species).

    Easily attracted to feeding stations that provide some form of suet/suet cakes; also quite partial to cornbread or a mix of cornbread and peanut butter.

    The Downy is apparently the primary excavator of natural cavities used as nest sites by Eastern Bluebirds (LINK to Eastern Bluebird account).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 107 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 177 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Common during each year and indicating that the Downy is about as likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods as in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The high count during spring is quite a bit lower than the high counts during fall and early winter (see also Regional High Count above), a disparity that probably reflects the greater reticence (and, thus, lesser detectibility) of this woodpecker during the breeding season than during the other seasons of the year. Foray data (above) for 21 forays conducted 2008–2016 reveal a range of 2–7 Downies as the highest number recorded in the blocks of each of the 21 counties, a fairly low range for a Common species, also indicative of the quiet nature of this species during the height of the breeding season.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited