A downy? Killing a tree? That little feller? Are you sure that the tree wasn't already on it's way out and bug infested and the downy wasn't just opportunistic? It may even be saving other trees from further insect damage. As for the ponderosa, I have Hairy Woodpeckers and Sapsuckers drilling my Austrian pines and I'm not worried about them, so I surely would not fret over a downy.

tj

Woodpeckers don't kill trees.

Dan

ocd, though downies can do damage to trees if they are excavating for nesting chambers, it is not all that common....on healthy trees. We more often see this and other woodpeckers on dying or insect riddled trees already in decline.

These woodpeckers can detect borers, for example, that we cannot see and will be very persistent in retrieving them.

If the trees appear to be dying, then I'll suggest that the woodpecker is simply taking advantage of the situation, and not the cause of it.

I was just curious if woodpeckers kill trees,I have heard so many stories and I would really like to know...

Thanks;Tammy

Woodpeckers only "attack" trees that are already infested with bugs. They eat the bugs. It's the bugs that are killing the trees, not the woodpeckers. The woodpeckers might be rightly viewed as a symptom, not as the cause.