they are named for the Lewis of Lewis and Clark who drew pictures and made maps of everything they saw on the explorations to the western mountains and west coast. they brought back volumes of hand drawn pictures of wildlife and birds and even insects ect and maps of all the rivers and lakes and mountains they found and named. the woodpeckers live mainly in the mountains and foothills anywhere mostly west side of the rockies on to the mountains of the west coast.

I am so jealous! I haven't seen Lewis Woodpeckers since I lived in Colorado in the early 80s!

don't know about your woodpeckers but i have a pair of lewis's woodpeckers who have nested here last 3 years. i also have lots of orioles and i put out fruit and jelly and watermelon for the orioles, the young Lewis's love the jelly and watermelon and eat lots of fruit and they come back every year. i also have downeys and hairys and flickers that use the same feeders as the Lewis's

i live just outside of Durango Colorado and i have gambel oak brush outside the door. The acorn woodpeckers like the small acorns and pinyon nuts but also carry off corn and sunflower seeds. The Lewis Woodpeckers don't come often but i got a photo of a male this week. The flickers come through in the fall and spring back and forth to the mountains, and the downeys come in the snow storms of winter. I had a pair of scrub jays nest in the oak brush this year and they had 2 young ones whoi are regular visiters. Since we got a few snow showers i have dozens of Juncos and finches and sparrows daily.