# Should we chase the woodpecker away from the hummingbird feeder? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404 "2022-09-11T20:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/1 "2022-09-11T20:40:09Z")
For his own good, of course. There is a young looking woodpecker who visits our hummer feeders daily. While I’m charmed to see him there, I’m starting to worry that maybe the syrup isn’t good for him. I’ve tried googling the issue and while I’ve found many, MANY pictures of woodpeckers on hummer feeders, I can’t find anything about how healthy the refined sugar is for them. Anybody got any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/2 "2022-09-11T21:35:24Z")
You’re worried about the health of a woodpecker who is brazenly stealing the hummingbird’s food? Let nature take its course. The woodpecker has it coming. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/3 "2022-09-11T21:49:29Z")
Tsk! You are an ol’ meanypants! The hummers have plenty, they can share a few sips for a hungry teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/4 "2022-09-11T21:56:27Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > The woodpecker has it coming. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I’ve heard this. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/5 "2022-09-11T21:59:42Z")
Is it possible that there are ants on your hummingbird feeder? A woodpecker would definitely be interested in those. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/6 "2022-09-11T22:06:49Z")
No ants or bees, I have tricks to keep them away. He’s definitely drinking the syrup, he lowers the level in the bottle by a quarter to half an inch each visit. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/7 "2022-09-11T22:40:42Z")
Are you certain he’s not in fact a [sapsucker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapsucker), which are in the same family as woodpeckers and look very similar? As the name implies, sapsuckers feed on tree sap, and I imagine the syrup in the hummingbird feeder is similar enough to tree sap to attract him, and probably fine for him to feed on. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/8 "2022-09-11T22:49:49Z")
I wasn’t certain when I read your post, but when I compared the bird I’ve been seeing, [a ladder-backed woodpecker](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ladder-backed_Woodpecker/overview) with pictures of the only Arizona sapsucker I could find, [the red-napped sapsucker](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-naped_Sapsucker/overview) I feel comfortable saying that I am 85% sure of my identification. Thank you very much for your suggestion, it was one I had not thought of! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/9 "2022-09-13T15:29:42Z")
So. Syrup is Woodpecker Crack. I learn something new on the SDMB, every day. 🥸 ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-chase-the-woodpecker-away-from-the-hummingbird-feeder/971404/10 "2022-09-14T03:07:04Z")
I was watching the little guy drinking today and figured that if he was that closely related to sapsuckers, he could have the syrup. This is probably a smart decision cause when he’s indulging his sweet “tooth”, he doesn’t share and will run the hummers and bees off. Hummingbirds can run me off from the feeders, a woodpecker would probably leave me curled up into a fetal position under the patio table.