The Amazing Reason Why You Should Let A Woodpecker Drill Holes In Your Tree

Woodpeckers are beautiful and interesting birds to have in your yard, often making their characteristic drumming noise as they bore holes into the sides of trees in search of insects; however, insects are not the only tasty treats that woodpeckers like to eat. In fact, certain types of woodpeckers, including the yellow-bellied sapsucker, drill holes into trees looking not for bugs but for delicious tree sap instead (just like the bird's name would suggest). Specifically, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, found throughout much of Canada and most of the Midwest and Eastern states of the U.S., prefer to drink the sap of maple, aspen, elm, pine, and birch trees and can bore up to 1,000 holes in a season.

While sapsuckers can sometimes damage trees (especially young and vulnerable ones), you may not want to shoo these woodpeckers away just yet because they also attract another type of sought-after bird: the hummingbird. In fact, ruby-throated hummingbirds often rely on the sap holes that the sapsuckers create in trees to get food when they first migrate north (before all the flowers start blooming) and the two birds have a symbiotic relationship. This relationship is extremely important for the hummers who have even been spotted following sapsuckers on their migration north from Mexico and building their nests near the open drinking holes that the sapsuckers have created. Tree sap has a similar sugar content to flower nectar and is a good replacement food for hummingbirds as they wait for more flowers to bloom and more food to become available in early spring.

Although it may seem like the hummingbirds are taking advantage of the sapsuckers by following them from tree to tree and drinking their hard-earned sap, as it turns out, the hummingbirds may also help the sapsuckers. Because tree sap is delicious and high in sugar, many more birds than just the ruby-throated hummingbird are often attracted to sapsucker holes — including kinglets, warblers, and eastern phoebes. Hummingbirds, being the agile and territorial little birds that they are, will often chase all other birds away from the sap wells (except for the sapsucker). This is beneficial to the sapsucker because although the hummingbird will still drink from the wells, it is quite a small bird and won't drink all that much compared to what the other, larger birds would be able to consume.

So, because these birds enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship, having more sapsuckers in your yard will help you attract more hummingbirds. As sapsuckers don't only eat tree sap and may also eat berries and visit suet feeders, a good way to attract more of them is to put out your own DIY suet cakes. This is an especially good idea in summer and fall when the sap season for many trees, including maples, is over. You can also make your yard more attractive to hummingbirds by planting specific flowers and plants that they like and making your yard less noisy.