We often hear the distinct sounds they make as they pound and drill holes into trees, looking for insects that might live there.
But woodpeckers appear in other places too. Some of them can be regular visitors to a suet block or a bird feeder if you have them in your yard.
Maine is home to several species of woodpeckers including hairy, downy, red-bellied, red-headed, pileated, three-toed and black-backed. Woodpeckers, sapsuckers and flickers are in the same family.
Not all woodpeckers like the same habitat and some prefer one menu over another, but they all are characterized by their quick and busy movement in their quest for food. Watch them in these videos contributed by Renee Martel in York County of the pileated and Emily Burnham of Bangor of the hairy.
Some actually look for specific insects, such as pileated woodpeckers, which eat carpenter ants.
Woodpeckers are valuable in the ecosystem because they specialize in pest control, but they also can be pests, according to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
They can damage trees to the point that they will die. They also can do a number on buildings as they drill holes looking for insects, the MDACF said.
