Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

© Kurt Hasselman

Construction Difficulty

moderate difficulty moderate

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Nesting Range

Pileated Woodpecker Range
Source: Birds of the World

Nesting Habitat

  • icon Forest

Attach Nest Box To

  • Dead Tree icon Dead Tree
  • Live tree icon 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

Height Range From Ground

15ft
20ft
15–20 feet

Spacing Between Nest Boxes

330 feet

Facing

Entrance hole facing visualization
Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, East, South

Nest Box Measurements

Entrance Hole Size

Entrance hole size visualization 4"

Nest Box Depth (inside)

Nest box depth visualization 24"

Nest Box Width and Length

Nest box width and length visualization 11 1/4" 11 1/4"

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.