Finding a mate begins the nesting process. Some pairs are with a previous mate for multiple years (up to 4-6 years), but nearly 80% of all pairs are with a new mate each year. This may be because of winter or migration mortality, new first year nesting birds, arrival time on site, and divorces. Pair bonding occurs as the male excavates/presents a nest cavity and the female approves (or not) the cavity. The bonding is enhanced with drumming, mostly by the male, excited flying with chatter and kweeah calls, pseudo mating with the male on the bottom, and setting territory boundaries as both birds chase intruders away. In Minnesota this activity usually begins early to mid-May.

Nests are generally located in or near habitats such as oak savanna, wetland sloughs, open woods, tornado blowdowns, and small woodlots. Red Heads almost always nest in dead trees or dead parts of live trees (90+%). The trees must have soft heartwood, which is usually caused by heart rot fungi and can often be seen on the tree. Nest trees are usually located where there is open understory, partly open canopy, live trees nearby, as well as wetlands and a plentiful supply of invertebrates. The species of a nest tree is less important than the tree’s location and condition for it to be selected as a nest tree.

The nest cavity may be anywhere from 5 feet to 75 feet high on a nest tree. The cavity hole may face any direction. The nest hole is 2” in diameter on a newly excavated cavity, and may be bigger on a previously used cavity, as squirrels and other animals will enlarge it for access. Red-headed Woodpeckers will also use and/or remodel natural cavities on trees for nests.

The nest cavity will be about 12” in depth, usually with a narrow neck and wide sill at the opening, while the cavity below is gourd shaped with about 2” of woodchips on the bottom.

Fresh woodchips on the bottom are very important for nest success. RHWO nestlings scatter spray their fecal matter all over the bottom of the cavity. The adults, almost always the male, regularly remove the fecal matter-soaked woodchips and chisel new chips from the inside walls of the nest. This activity reduces flies and predators and makes a healthier living space for the nestlings and the male at night.

Red-headed Woodpeckers lay 3-7 pure white eggs on top of the woodchip nest bottom. The eggs are generally laid one per day. Incubation may begin one day prior to the last egg laid. The female woodpecker may lay one or two insurance eggs the day or so before the first eggs hatch. If the first eggs hatch these eggs do not continue to be incubated and will die.

Red-headed Woodpecker egg incubation is about 12 days. The eggs all hatch within two to three days. Males and females share incubation and switch off every 20 to 30 minutes during the daytime. Only the male incubates at night. He also is on guard duty and fights off intruders or covers the young at the bottom of the nest. If the male dies or disappears during the nesting cycle the female does not know to replace him in the nest at night and the unguarded nest almost always fails as a result.

Hatchlings and nestlings have white gape markings so adults can find open beaks easily in the dark cavity. Hatchlings beg for food as soon as they hatch. Nestlings are usually about the same size, but in some nests they may become stacked as they get older and the bottom one may not get fed as often and gets smaller and weaker and sometimes may die as a result. This and other factors result in an average brood reduction of about 50% from the number of eggs to the number of fledglings in successful Red-headed Woodpecker nests.

About 95% of the food Red-headed Woodpeckers feed their nestlings is invertebrates, examples are dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders, and snails.

A small part (5%) of the food presented to the nestlings is berries and nuts when they are in season and if present within the woodpecker’s territory.

The preferred method of food acquisition by Red-headed Woodpeckers is flycatching, at which they are very skilled. The adults will also glean off the ground and plants in the area, particularly on cold days when few insects are flying.

Fledging generally occurs at about 30 days from hatching, and it may take two or three days for all nestlings to fledge. Fledglings may return to the nest cavity and beg for food both inside and outside the cavity and sometimes will be fed. Some adults will actively train their fledglings to find and cache food.

Adults are active with their fledglings for about one to three months. When the adults have a second brood the first brood of fledglings at some nests appear to have a shorter amount of time with the adults tending to them.

Fledglings may become mostly independent from their parents in about six weeks but most remain within their parents territory until they migrate. If the fledglings do not migrate they may remain within their parents territory for most of the winter. Some will nest adjacent to their parent’s territory the following spring.

Over several years an average of around 75% of Red-headed Woodpecker pairs succeed, with the other 25% failing. Predation and usurpation are responsible for many nest failures. Storm damage to nest trees causes some nests to fail. In some nest the eggs fail to hatch causing nest failure. This may be caused by infertile eggs and/or very old adults (9-10 years). Some nests fail for unknown reasons.

During winters in Minnesota Red-headed Woodpeckers have a diet that is almost entirely made up of acorns and other nuts they have cached under tree bark and in tree cracks. On most winter days Red-headed Woodpeckers are very quiet and fly very little. In the dry winter weather the cached acorns shrink and the woodpeckers spend much of their time moving the shrinking pieces into more secure locations on the tree. On warm winter days the woodpeckers may eat cold weather moths and other winter invertebrates that are flying or moving around. They will regularly eat snow and ice for water.

Red-headed Woodpeckers function as ecosystem engineers because of the many nest and roost cavities they create. After a few years, where even small nesting clusters of these woodpeckers are found, there may be a hundred or more cavities they have created. The cavities are utilized by dozens of other vertebrates (36) and many invertebrates. These other animals use the cavities as places to nest and roost, as temporary shelter, and as places to find food, water, and nesting material. The cavities are used as places to hide from predators and as places that attract predators. These cavities are actively used 24 hours a day during all seasons and are often as busy at night with nocturnal animals as during the daytime. Conflicts over cavity possession are commonly observed, sometimes several times in one day/night period.