Pileated Woodpecker

Nest box Plan and Information

Select another species:

Pileated Woodpecker
© Kurt Hasselman
Construction difficulty:
moderate

Download Nest Box Plan

Nesting Range

Pileated Woodpecker Range Source: Birds of the World

Nesting Habitat

  • Forest

Attach Nest Box To

  • Dead Tree
  • Live tree

Known Nesting Period

Not Nesting
Some Nesting Occurrence
Nesting in Most of Range
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Source: Birds of the World

Nest Box Placement

Nest Height:
15ft
20ft

15–20 feet

Minimum Spacing:

330 feet

Facing:

Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, East, South

Nest Box Measurements

Entrance Hole:

4"

Depth:

24"

Width & Length:

11 1/4"

11 1/4"

Click here to get this plan

Helpful Tips

  • For Pileated Woodpeckers, modify this plan by using a 2" x 12" x 12' board, and make the floor section 8 1/4" long instead of 9 3/4" long.
  • Pack box completely full of sawdust, tamped in, so that the woodpecker can excavate a nest cavity.
  • Place the box in the interior of a mature hardwood forest.
  • Pileated Woodpeckers do not have a long history of using nest boxes, but they may use a box that is located in forested areas which lack dead or dying trees >21" in diameter (in areas with short growing seasons, it can take more than 200 years for a tree to grow large enough for a Pileated Woodpecker to nest in it, although foraging trees may be available). Nest boxes can also be experimentally offered in areas where birds are nesting in utility poles.