Question
I'm distressed!  My beautiful Ginkgo Tree looks very ill, the leaves at the top came in but the bottom half is not producing any leaves.  We live in Chicago area.  We do have a lot of woodpeckers but I don't know if that plays a part or not.

Answer
Woodpeckers will usually form small holes in a line around the trunk of the tree.  They usually do not cause serious damage, although, many holes will affect the stem function.  Once you have ruled this out, there could be a water problem.  Too much water can cause root disfunction and cause the leaves to turn yellow and fall off.  It is hard to say.  Fertilize the tree with tree spikes and watch the amount of water.  See what happens in a couple of weeks.  Let me know of your observations and we can go from there.  Thanks.